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gabbutm's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.75
zanderw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
dumb_library's review against another edition
3.0
this started off super strong for me. it was an interesting and weird premise that was keeping me entertained at first. however, the further i got into the book, the more bored i got. i was mainly interested in the tech/science they were using in the story, but we didn’t really get much insight into that. also, yes it was weird however, it didn’t go far enough for me. i needed it to be weirder!!!! take it there!!!! idk it was fine
rereader33's review against another edition
5.0
2024 April Reading Challenge
Prompt: read a book featuring an animal/creature, mythical or not
TW/CW: animal violence, animal abuse, death
SPOILERS AHEAD
I want to make this clear from the start: if readers are looking for a book with a "happy ending," move on. If readers are looking for a book with a redeemable/good protagonist, move one. If readers are looking for a book that will provide clear cut answers and solutions, move one.
This is a novel about unethical practices and the flawed humans that participate in them that accurately reflects modern science and humans as a whole. Sean, our protagonist, is an awful person. Period, end of story. She is selfish, self-centered, and self-aware while getting defensive and passive-aggressive when people call her out on her aforementioned flaws. She is only doing this experiment to satiate her own childish dream with little to no regard for how it affects others, until someone points it out and she scurries over to a corner to mope and lick her wounds. And let me make this clear right here and now--she does not get better by the end of the book. She is still stubbornly selfish and self-centered from start to finish, and I am thrilled that she is.
Something worth noting is a generally dislike reading books featuring awful protagonists. The primary reason is because, at least to me, they are awful for the sake of being awful, which I find to be unimaginative and frankly boring. Yes, I am aware that people like that exist in real life, but there is a time and a place to have an "awful for the sake of being awful" protagonist and this is most definitely one of those times. I wholeheartedly believe that if Sean was written as a sensitive, kind-hearted person who just wants to do the right thing, this book would not be nearly as strong or as good for that matter. Sean has to be unlikable in order to show how hypocritical people can be and the lengths people will go to fulfill their greatest wishes. In fact, Sean is effectively a child in an adult's body; she only cares about herself, does a lot of damage to others without any sort of self-reflection, refuses to take an sincere accountability for her actions, and believes that she is special and she will get what she wants in the end.
What she wants, of course, is a connection with Kate, the wolf that she has trapped, drugged, implanted a device without its consent, and is entering its mind without, again, its consent. All of this under the guise of "learning how to empathize with wolves to that we can create better conservation methods by seeing the world through their eyes". Nevermind the fact that she has a wife that gave her way too many chances for my liking and was practically begging Sean to talk to her and spend time with her, that connection clearly doesn't matter. That last part was sarcasm, but yeah Sean doesn't really care about her wife nor consider there marriage an important connection; she just doesn't want her to leave because she would lose something. For the record, the number of times Sean mentions being alone despite having a partner that wanted to be there for her but was struggling shouldering their marriage on her own is insane and infuriating, but very much in character for Sean. I have to say though, it was unbelievably satisfying watching Kate reject her and not acknowledge her. Seriously that was so cathartic.
Side note: I was wondering if readers were ever going to get any backstory on Sean that explained why she was so desperate for connection and belonging, but that never came, and I think its incredibly interesting that a woman has no qualms about violating another creature's boundaries and revoking consent from them.
Before this review gets to be too long, I want to circle back to the nonsensical rationale behind this entire experiment-effectively trying to see things from the wolf's perspective so that people can empathize with them more. It is truly insane to me that Sean can even say this with a straight face, considering that implanting a device into another creature's brain without their consent and then proceeding to view the world through their eyes without their consent is the farthest thing from empathy anyone can imagine. I understand that for a lot of people they can't fully empathize with others unless they have personally experienced what they have experienced, but there are two problems here: One, just because different groups of people have shared experiences does not mean they will automatically empathize with each other. Two, disregarding whether this would actually work or not (it does not, to the shock and amazement of literally no one), the host of unethical practices done to simply run this experiment completely outweigh any benefits that could come form it. But again, Sean doesn't care about ethics, she doesn't care about morals, all she cares about is granting her wish and she pays the price for it in more ways than one. But unfortunately, just like in real life, she's not the only one that has to pay, and that is the most tragic part of this whole story.
Okay I've been ranting for too long, I'm going to leave it here. This was a tough, painful, and infuriating book to read, but I got more out of this 105 page book than I've gotten out of a lot of other stories out there. I enjoyed every second of it and highly recommend it to others. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Prompt: read a book featuring an animal/creature, mythical or not
TW/CW: animal violence, animal abuse, death
SPOILERS AHEAD
I want to make this clear from the start: if readers are looking for a book with a "happy ending," move on. If readers are looking for a book with a redeemable/good protagonist, move one. If readers are looking for a book that will provide clear cut answers and solutions, move one.
This is a novel about unethical practices and the flawed humans that participate in them that accurately reflects modern science and humans as a whole. Sean, our protagonist, is an awful person. Period, end of story. She is selfish, self-centered, and self-aware while getting defensive and passive-aggressive when people call her out on her aforementioned flaws. She is only doing this experiment to satiate her own childish dream with little to no regard for how it affects others, until someone points it out and she scurries over to a corner to mope and lick her wounds. And let me make this clear right here and now--she does not get better by the end of the book. She is still stubbornly selfish and self-centered from start to finish, and I am thrilled that she is.
Something worth noting is a generally dislike reading books featuring awful protagonists. The primary reason is because, at least to me, they are awful for the sake of being awful, which I find to be unimaginative and frankly boring. Yes, I am aware that people like that exist in real life, but there is a time and a place to have an "awful for the sake of being awful" protagonist and this is most definitely one of those times. I wholeheartedly believe that if Sean was written as a sensitive, kind-hearted person who just wants to do the right thing, this book would not be nearly as strong or as good for that matter. Sean has to be unlikable in order to show how hypocritical people can be and the lengths people will go to fulfill their greatest wishes. In fact, Sean is effectively a child in an adult's body; she only cares about herself, does a lot of damage to others without any sort of self-reflection, refuses to take an sincere accountability for her actions, and believes that she is special and she will get what she wants in the end.
What she wants, of course, is a connection with Kate, the wolf that she has trapped, drugged, implanted a device without its consent, and is entering its mind without, again, its consent. All of this under the guise of "learning how to empathize with wolves to that we can create better conservation methods by seeing the world through their eyes". Nevermind the fact that she has a wife that gave her way too many chances for my liking and was practically begging Sean to talk to her and spend time with her, that connection clearly doesn't matter. That last part was sarcasm, but yeah Sean doesn't really care about her wife nor consider there marriage an important connection; she just doesn't want her to leave because she would lose something. For the record, the number of times Sean mentions being alone despite having a partner that wanted to be there for her but was struggling shouldering their marriage on her own is insane and infuriating, but very much in character for Sean. I have to say though, it was unbelievably satisfying watching Kate reject her and not acknowledge her. Seriously that was so cathartic.
Side note: I was wondering if readers were ever going to get any backstory on Sean that explained why she was so desperate for connection and belonging, but that never came, and I think its incredibly interesting that a woman has no qualms about violating another creature's boundaries and revoking consent from them.
Before this review gets to be too long, I want to circle back to the nonsensical rationale behind this entire experiment-effectively trying to see things from the wolf's perspective so that people can empathize with them more. It is truly insane to me that Sean can even say this with a straight face, considering that implanting a device into another creature's brain without their consent and then proceeding to view the world through their eyes without their consent is the farthest thing from empathy anyone can imagine. I understand that for a lot of people they can't fully empathize with others unless they have personally experienced what they have experienced, but there are two problems here: One, just because different groups of people have shared experiences does not mean they will automatically empathize with each other. Two, disregarding whether this would actually work or not (it does not, to the shock and amazement of literally no one), the host of unethical practices done to simply run this experiment completely outweigh any benefits that could come form it. But again, Sean doesn't care about ethics, she doesn't care about morals, all she cares about is granting her wish and she pays the price for it in more ways than one. But unfortunately, just like in real life, she's not the only one that has to pay, and that is the most tragic part of this whole story.
Okay I've been ranting for too long, I'm going to leave it here. This was a tough, painful, and infuriating book to read, but I got more out of this 105 page book than I've gotten out of a lot of other stories out there. I enjoyed every second of it and highly recommend it to others. I look forward to reading more from this author.
rachelc978's review against another edition
2.0
I was left unmoved by this. The premise was interesting, everything else was… forgettable. I just didn’t give a fuck about Sean to be honest, mopey ass scientist, Riya come see me hun
cpociask's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely beautiful, the raw emotion in this is kind of insane AND we get so much wolf content? What a weird and perfect little novella.
mikaelaball's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
janagaton's review against another edition
4.0
Our Wives Under the Sea meets Once There Were Wolves. I can't think of a better comparison, and I loved all 3 of these books. For this one, I didn't care too much for the sci-fi parts, as is the case with any book ever for me lol, but I am glad it involved wolves, which are my favorite animal. However, the relationship aspect was so real, raw, relatable, and heart-wrenching, and those were the parts I waited for and absorbed wholeheartedly. the author did a great job articulating the nuances of a crumbling relationship, and the audiobook narrator had the best melancholic tone in their voice to portray the poignancy of this story.