Reviews

The Human Zoo by Sabina Murray

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143colleen's review

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐

Insightful and resonant with the political climate in the Philippines. It's disquieting and very uncomfortable for me to read a book like this that so accurately reflects my own loved ones' casual justification of Martial Law in the Philippines, and the ways in which unjust and truly despicable political actions are twisted in order to gain public support. The secrecy, the fear, the underground and behind-closed-doors organizing, the confusion, and the misinformation under a government blazing a path toward dictatorship all find their place in this story that, on the surface, feels like such an ordinary story of Filipino family, expectations, and culture.

I didn't find the story as compelling as I had hoped it would be, but at around 75% it really picked up and the ending was dramatic but LEAVES YOU HANGING at such a critical moment and leaves you little to no hope for what is to come.. I have so many questions!!

mandelb's review

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informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

wow. that was interesting. can't say much more for it than that honestly. I was interested the whole time, even if I wasn't particularly compelled. the narration was so laconic and devoid of personality it took me a while to get into, but then I sort of figured out that itself is the style. I liked that within the narrative she was criticized for being shiftless and selfish, and I liked that she wasn't particularly sorry; I think she actually did take a convincing shape by the end. I also liked lots of the side characters, they were often well figured in just a few strokes, especially the aunts and the maid and top gun. I appreciated that she didn't pause to explain every aspect of Pinoy culture and food at length, that always feels more immersive, but she was still pretty obviously writing to a white/USAmerican audience. well! that's me so I can't really complain. I did not really get why Murray crafted a president wholesale? is it really just that the book might've been unpublishable if it was explicitly Duterte? or maybe it was just more convenient for the narrative. laird is sort of an insane character who I am very curious about. I feel like he plays into a stereotype of like, getting radicalized in the west and then going to enact that in another country, but idk if that's actually a stereotype. either way I am pretty interested in the convo ting has with his wife... in retrospect that sort of seems like she's trying to tell ting something. hmmm. chet was pretty lackluster, I get that he couldn't really be explicitly romantic or it would've played weird, but I never really bought the chemistry. I feel like the funniest character is tings husband. like truly that is a Ben Affleck in gone girl type of guy with zero awareness. lmao. well! it always surprises me when a book is sort of boring but then I come up with lots of thoughts on it anyway. okay!

kangaci's review

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funny informative mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

sjhaug's review

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

pluralghost's review

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

franckensteine's review

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4.0

4/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Press for providing this e-arc!

The Human Zoo was a great book that made me even more nostalgic for the Philippines. Murray shines in her tiny world-building details for the country which are mostly true from my experience. Despite understanding the main character for not focusing on their novel, I was a bit disappointed that the concept wasn't as profound as i would've preferred it to be. The narration was fine enough that i wasn't with Ting, our main character, making the usual protagonist mistakes. The ending seemed a bit abrupt and out of character which led me to not being fully pleased with the novel. I still definitely reccomend it to anyone interested in DU30 based novels. And on that note the fake names were a bit too confusing.

jeanspantalones's review

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3.0

The first 2/3 of the book dragged a bit, but I enjoyed learning a bit about the Philippines as I worked through it. The last 1/3 was exciting, I'm glad I stuck through to the end. The main character, Ting, reminds me of some of Ottessa Moshfegh's women who are observing their lives, not necessarily living in them. It's not my favorite style but it works here, as does a zoo.