weirdalchemist's reviews
4 reviews

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

All Tomorrows: The Myriad Species and Mixed Fortunes of Man by Nemo Ramjet

challenging dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Animal Farm by George Orwell

dark reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Re-read this novella after not finishing it the first time, short read and highly recommend. 

Spoilers from this point onwards:

People seem to forget that Snowball was not a perfect pig either, not to say that Napoleon was a saint obviously but Snowball didn’t say anything when the wind-fallen apples were added to their meals, and as the milk from the cows disappeared he didnt take up any issue with it. although he was far better than Napoleon he was still a pig.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

challenging dark fast-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

3.75

I purchased this book back in September of 2023. I read through the first half very quickly but dropped it for months after coming to the second half. 

I was very excited to read this book, although i found the pacing fast and the descriptions shallow at some points with the writing simplifying itself down to “he went and did this, then he went and did that”, i did genuinely enjoy this book. It is not very long, and i found the first half captivating enough to keep me entertained. My main gripe is with the second half of the book. 

Spoilers from this point onwards : 

It felt as if the story took a “gross out” turn with the humanization and impregnation of Jasmine, after spending the first half of the novel stating how inhuman and dumbed down the heads are, it did feel a lot like the author needed more text to fill up her book rather than actually providing anything new. The not so twist ending of Marcos taking the child as his own with Cecelia was expected, but I definitely did not expect him to slaughter Jasmine after establishing their relationship. His attempts to humanize her even in the moments they share which could resemble love are futile of course because she does not have the same capacity to feel as humans do, but i felt like there should have been more emphasis on the lack of real connection to her. There are some points that emphasis Jasmine not really knowing what shes doing whether its dancing or hugging, but the book never makes a point of Marcos not feeling the love he wants, you know? Jasmine was nothing but a vessel for Marcos’s wants, and while his slaughtering of her is not necessarily bad, I wish there was more proof throughout the novel that she was never going to live up to his wife.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Dementia, Trafficking, and Death of parent