Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

All the Quiet Places by Brian Thomas Isaac

10 reviews

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

2.5

I have to admit I found this book, particularly as an audiobook, a tad dull. It’s very much tell and no show, full of mostly dialogue and ‘action’ (such as it is), without much insight into the characters’ inner lives or motivations. This is most likely since it’s told from the POV of a child, Eddie, a Syilx boy growing up in the 50s. Isaac explores the lives of Indigenous people through Eddie’s eyes - precarious work, addiction, racism, lack of care from the government for their basic necessities. But the story kind of just plods along, lacking a pull. This changed at the ending - that ending did have my heart in my throat.

As the title suggests, definitely a quiet but heavy read, and perhaps audio wasn’t the best route. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, and Colonisation

richy_qu33r_readzz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Too much unnecessary animal deaths and jokes about animal harm. 
The theme was only lightly threaded and not the cozy book I expected. Felt disjointed in places, but maybe that’s designed to feel like memories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Violence

erks's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, and Bullying

Minor: Miscarriage

stasiana's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Classism

taryndeanne's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation

zee's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Set in the 50s through 60s, this is a coming of age novel of a boy living on a reserve in the Okanagan Valley in BC, with all the hardships, complications, and trauma that come with it. 

The adult characters may be difficult to relate to, but you get a sense of the many driving factors behind their decisions and their impact on Eddie. All of the characters are wildly complicated, as a result of many different hardships.

I understand why it was longlisted for both Canada Reads 2022 and the 2022 Giller Prize, as well as being a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction. It's very well-written, and hard to believe that it is a debut of the author. 

This is a very heavy book, though it sneaks up on you; lulling you in with mild optimism when Eddie is young. Be mindful of content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide

pixieprose's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad 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

2.25

I don't normally dislike books I read, but I didn't like this book. The writing is very good, the author is definitely talented, but the story is a huge bummer, and the cast is truly unlikable. 

Entirely too much death of children and animals. Does give some insight into tribal affairs in the US and Canada, but the same can be said for books that are more pleasant to read. 

I'm not saying this a bad book, I'm just saying that it was not to my taste and I didn't get as much enjoyment out of it as I had hoped. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Suicide

schaarzy's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Hate crime, Medical content, and Medical trauma

avisreadsandreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Miscarriage

girlpuck's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Suicide

Moderate: Bullying, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Animal death