mattait's review against another edition
4.0
Neil Cross knows when to threaten, when to prod, and when to cut, with the precision of a skilled torturer. Set in the nineties, there's a creeping millenial dread backgrounding the impending personal apocalypse of his all too relatable characters. The tension while waiting for the other shoe to drop is (almost) unbearable, and when it does there's no relief or catharsis to be had - Cross and this book are too clever for that. What there is though is ambiguity and a sense of abiding mystery about the human condition that I found frustrating and perversely satisfying in a way that I guess I always should when confronted with my own profound ignorance. Cross, I think, is trying to get at things that resist taxonomy but nevertheless compel the attempt, and if he, and the reader, fall short that's as it should be. What we're left with, as with any good art, is a wonderfully lucid failure to explain. Which sounds like a meagre recommendation, but is far from.
readbydusk's review against another edition
4.0
I almost wish the synopsis of the book doesn't allude to the "shocking" event because I was completely blindsided when it happened. The red herring with another character worked for me, as did the solution to an earlier mystery. I cared for these characters and the circumstances they found themselves in. The graphic descriptions of the animal sanctuary, the chaos of a long journey in a foreign land, the emptiness of an old house - all served their purpose to create a world that feels wholly realistic. I love the idea that humans are always looking for the monsters outside, watching animals in fear and yet never realising that the actual monsters throughout history have always been us humans. Stunning.
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