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A review by bookishpip
Animal by Lisa Taddeo
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
After reading Three Women, Taddeo became an auto-buy author for me. It was a book so powerfully written that I was convinced that I would adore everything she writes. Sadly, I didn’t love this book, and am struggling to articulate exactly why that is.
Animal was an interesting and visceral novel; a gritty exploration of female trauma and rage. On paper, it’s the sort of thing that I would be hooked by. Unfortunately, I found this to be so fragmented that I kept losing the narrative thread. I suspect that this may be the aim, but half of the time I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. Perhaps this wasn’t helped by the fact that I read this as an audiobook; jumps between past and present with no warning, that may have been better signposted in a physical book, made for a disorienting and disjointed read that was quite confusing.
I do adore Taddeo’s unflinching attitude towards taboo and intimate subject matter, and the fallout of trauma, but overall I found this novel to be a bit heavy-handed and confusing.
I think, if the premise appeals to you, this is one that you need to read and judge for yourself as it’s very much divided opinions!
Animal was an interesting and visceral novel; a gritty exploration of female trauma and rage. On paper, it’s the sort of thing that I would be hooked by. Unfortunately, I found this to be so fragmented that I kept losing the narrative thread. I suspect that this may be the aim, but half of the time I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. Perhaps this wasn’t helped by the fact that I read this as an audiobook; jumps between past and present with no warning, that may have been better signposted in a physical book, made for a disorienting and disjointed read that was quite confusing.
I do adore Taddeo’s unflinching attitude towards taboo and intimate subject matter, and the fallout of trauma, but overall I found this novel to be a bit heavy-handed and confusing.
I think, if the premise appeals to you, this is one that you need to read and judge for yourself as it’s very much divided opinions!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, and Vomit