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floressius's review against another edition
2.0
Fauna is an interesting read that touches on many pressing contemporary anxieties, turning a quasi-science fiction piece into a believable, unsettling possibility.
The novel raises compelling discussion points on the ethics in scientific research, philosophical questions of morality such as Philippa Foot’s Trolley Problem, female agency, and the exploitation of the working class that would make it a perfect book club read. It may leave one questioning whether, as I did myself, if you knew your child would be taken from you less than a decade after its birth, would you bring them into your world? Could you?
Read my full review at Westerly Magazine
The novel raises compelling discussion points on the ethics in scientific research, philosophical questions of morality such as Philippa Foot’s Trolley Problem, female agency, and the exploitation of the working class that would make it a perfect book club read. It may leave one questioning whether, as I did myself, if you knew your child would be taken from you less than a decade after its birth, would you bring them into your world? Could you?
Read my full review at Westerly Magazine
henrymarlene's review against another edition
3.0
Okay. Wow. I need to take a breath after reading 'Fauna". This was possibly more a dystopian novel than a futuristic one. And it was one that tugged at heartstrings as well as presented so many conflicting emotions. The writing in this book was so detailed, positioned and illuminated by the emotion portrayed through Stacey and Isak. So beautifully written for a confronting context. The question that still leaves me hanging is not how far Stacey would go to save her daughter, but did Stacey truly understand the sacrifices that loneliness, withdrawal, disconnection, and rejection would bring her and her family?
The use of nature - both fauna and flora - painted a strong image of the ghost-like indigenous natural surroundings of the world around Stacey and her family. It also symbolised Asta's genetic makeup, a connection to those from thousands of years ago. These rich descriptions added to creating an atmosphere in this book, visualise each scene, and experience this story through several senses.
Stacey was hard to comprehend and warm to. She lived within her own thoughts, possibly to protect herself more than Asta. If she did speak more of her thoughts, would any if this have ever occured? This book may challenge deep, visceral emotions. And that is okay. It is exactly what literatures is supposed to do, and Donnam Mazza delivers that here.
The use of nature - both fauna and flora - painted a strong image of the ghost-like indigenous natural surroundings of the world around Stacey and her family. It also symbolised Asta's genetic makeup, a connection to those from thousands of years ago. These rich descriptions added to creating an atmosphere in this book, visualise each scene, and experience this story through several senses.
Stacey was hard to comprehend and warm to. She lived within her own thoughts, possibly to protect herself more than Asta. If she did speak more of her thoughts, would any if this have ever occured? This book may challenge deep, visceral emotions. And that is okay. It is exactly what literatures is supposed to do, and Donnam Mazza delivers that here.
kp68's review against another edition
4.0
An engaging, thought provoking story about the lengths a mother will go to in order to bring a child into the world, then keep her safe, loved and nurtured. I have to admit I was a little creeped out reading this, it's not something I would ever consider doing.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my copy to read and review.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin for my copy to read and review.
jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review against another edition
2.0
This was a bit of a frustrating read for me - it started SO strong with just the right level of vagueness and short chapters that kept me turning those pages quickly. The story is set in Australia in the near future and follows a mother’s perspective as she embarks on a medically assisted pregnancy in a study of sorts. The novel is structured in chapters that follow the weeks in the pregnancy, and then move into years after the birth. While it moves in a very literal sense with the pregnancy and then life of the child, it felt like it became a factual chronicling of growth and other milestones rather than a story or even a character study. I also just felt like it was on the precipice of building into something by way of a plot twist for a large portion of the narrative, and that just never delivered for me - the vague nature of the ending also help this, so all in all not one I would recommend personally.
keepingupwiththepenguins's review against another edition
4.0
Fauna is perhaps best classified as “eco-gothic speculative fiction”, but that’s a bit of a tongue twister. It falls somewhere between feminist dystopias, like The Handmaid’s Tale, and contemporary Australian climate fiction, like Dyschronia. In it, Donna Mazza imagines a too-near speculative future where a company, Lifeblood(R), offers huge incentives for women to join an experimental genetics program splicing non-human DNA into embryos for in-vitro fertilisation. My thanks to Allen & Unwin for sending me a review copy!
I can’t tell you too much about the plot of Fauna, because – as is the way with speculative novels – most of the impact comes from the slow unveiling of the truth. What I will say is that it grapples with big themes (the nature of personhood, motherhood, grief, yearning, and reckoning with one’s deal with the devil), and it will surely spark a lot of debate at book club!
An extended review of Fauna is available to subscribers at Keeping Up With The Penguins.
I can’t tell you too much about the plot of Fauna, because – as is the way with speculative novels – most of the impact comes from the slow unveiling of the truth. What I will say is that it grapples with big themes (the nature of personhood, motherhood, grief, yearning, and reckoning with one’s deal with the devil), and it will surely spark a lot of debate at book club!
An extended review of Fauna is available to subscribers at Keeping Up With The Penguins.
aksel_dadswell's review against another edition
4.0
The economy of Mazza’s prose belies the narrative’s – or more particularly its characters’ – icebergian depth. Every word feels carefully chosen and painstakingly placed, every page a blistering rainfall of ideas and imagery made up of individual drops all falling towards the same purpose, narrative- and gravity-driven wonder. This is a beautifully written book, and the language flows in a consistent and engaging tone.
Stacey is a character very much in her own head, but Mazza is canny enough to constantly engage and relate her protagonist to aspects of the world around her, the human often juxtaposed with the environment. Animals and wildlife are always close by, playing a significant role in the characters’ lives and contributing to the novel’s thematic core. Little details add weight to the story’s mood and accentuate Mazza’s crystalline imagery. In one scene, tension “hangs in a silent wake that seems to hiss”, which is evocative by itself, until “a languid fly crawls across a convex mango skin scraped clean by small teeth.” Fauna’s world feels lived-in and tactile, constantly responding to and being shaped by its characters. Stacey’s point of view is cleverly taken advantage of, and there’s a sly disparity between her dialogue and her inner thoughts, in the spaces between people, what’s spoken and unspoken. Mazza teases out this dichotomy with the glacial weight of all the complicated emotions and tensions and knots that lie between two people in a long-term relationship, their words often inadequate at articulating the vastness and complexity of their emotions.
For my full review check out my blog at https://larvalforms.wordpress.com/
Stacey is a character very much in her own head, but Mazza is canny enough to constantly engage and relate her protagonist to aspects of the world around her, the human often juxtaposed with the environment. Animals and wildlife are always close by, playing a significant role in the characters’ lives and contributing to the novel’s thematic core. Little details add weight to the story’s mood and accentuate Mazza’s crystalline imagery. In one scene, tension “hangs in a silent wake that seems to hiss”, which is evocative by itself, until “a languid fly crawls across a convex mango skin scraped clean by small teeth.” Fauna’s world feels lived-in and tactile, constantly responding to and being shaped by its characters. Stacey’s point of view is cleverly taken advantage of, and there’s a sly disparity between her dialogue and her inner thoughts, in the spaces between people, what’s spoken and unspoken. Mazza teases out this dichotomy with the glacial weight of all the complicated emotions and tensions and knots that lie between two people in a long-term relationship, their words often inadequate at articulating the vastness and complexity of their emotions.
For my full review check out my blog at https://larvalforms.wordpress.com/
girlboss_gina's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really interesting book to read. I had to read it for one of my University classes and I honestly thought that is was horrible at the beginning, a slog.
But the more I read, the more I fell in love with the book. I definitely recommend it.
But the more I read, the more I fell in love with the book. I definitely recommend it.
ryansiriwardene's review against another edition
3.0
I think not being a mum, i found it hard to relate to this book.