Scan barcode
monsty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Excrement
mirissab's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book was not what I was expecting, but it was ultimately worth my time despite it taking me three attempts to start it. My niche is books that are multi-generational (preferably matrilineal) with a little history weaved through it. This book captures all of that but with more magic and surrealism sprinkled in. While beautifully written with poetic prose and melancholic storylines, I found it perhaps a little too fantastical for my personal preference. I appreciate the layers and complexity of the characters and storylines even though I would say there wasn't much of a (fast-moving) plot: the harsh realities of being an immigrant in the USA, what makes or breaks a family, how history shapes the present, and how we are capable of more than we know (both good and bad). This book made me feel like I understood nothing and everything at the same time. It was oftentimes confusing and I felt like I was missing something, but I could likely attribute at least a part of it to my ignorance (for example, I'm not that great with symbolism).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and War
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Racism
marioncromb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A story of inheritance, cycles of violence, folk tales and animal magic.
Earthy, visceral, soaked in piss, sweat and saliva
Earthy, visceral, soaked in piss, sweat and saliva
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gun violence, Sexism, Racism, Rape, Vomit, War, and Cannibalism
chichio's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
5.0
Before all else, K-Ming Chang is a poet and that fact is made obvious throughout this entire novel. I can’t even put into words how amazing the prose is; without being convoluted and impossible to follow, K-Ming Chang writes a vulgar, mythical story about generational trauma, the ugliness and the unreliability of the human body and mind, family dynamics, the violent hunger of love, and the plight of moving away from one’s home (country or building) to try and survive in another.
You can just tell that K-Ming Chang writes poetry and short stories because on a line-by-line level, this book is unbelievable. I genuinely believe that not one line, not one word, is wasted. Given that this is a work of magical realism, the whole narrative is an extended metaphor but every single paragraph holds its very own unique, contained metaphor and I found myself highlighting damn-near every single page. This is one of those books that you have to stick with. Even while I’m writing this review, I acknowledge that this book really isn’t for everyone. There isn’t a traditional plot. Instead, K-Ming Chang presents a non-linear narrative following three main speakers–Daughter, Mother, and Grandmother–and conveys the complexities of their relationships through traditional Taiwanese myths. Although the female relationships take centre stage in this story, I really enjoyed how she spoke of the men, of how they were physically present but absent in all the ways that mattered, in ways that aggravated the female relationships, souring them in some instances, strengthening them in others. All this comes together to create a crass, strange story that speaks on a very relatable and real truth: it’s not easy to escape your lineage.
Some of my favourite quotes:
You don’t know about gold, about grieving what you could have owned. Your grandmother’s grief has grown its own body. She raises it like another child, one she loves better than me and my sister, one that can never leave her.
I’ll home him better than any country.
My husband is gone in the head and your father is gone everywhere else. She said men were synonymous with missing.
I remembered watching families in restaurants fighting to pay a bill, and maybe that was what Meng and Jiang were fighting over: a bill they were too proud to let the other take. To say a daughter is a debt they could afford to pay.
once when you were little I said you could love your father or your mother but you had to pick one the one you love is your leash the other is a house you burn down
I understand animals that eat their runts. Better to swallow them back into your body than let them be taken, buried outside of you.
You define a daughter as something done to you at night without your permission
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, War, Emotional abuse, and Grief
readingpicnic's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve never read a book with so much pissing in it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Animal death, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Excrement, Sexual assault, War, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, and Violence
jacq_s's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Gore
hbrigham's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
2.75
Myths mixed into the lives of three Taiwanese women
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse
snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.
Brimming with imagery and symbolism, vulgarity and rawness, Bestiary by K-Ming Chang is a familiar story of alienation, resilience and survival told in (while being made unfamiliar by) bizarre prose saturated with magical realism. There are layers upon layers in this story, made complex by two main factors.
The first of which is that there is no traditional plot structure as the story unravels without linearity. It jumps from one point of view to another, switching between Daughter, Mother and Grandmother without much care for order. But, despite this, it is clear that Bestiary is a story of identity, though there’s a notable lack of names.
The other is the significance of vulgarity in this book. Now, I’m not someone who shies away from vulgarity in literature, but there is just way too much of it here. The first half of the book is especially bursting with mentions of body parts and bodily functions. A small part of me hesitantly believes that the closeness of filth and the Asian characters here are meant to be ironic because Asians have been stereotyped as dirty. But, a greater part of me is unsure of their significance within the story and outside of it—the potential contexts elude me despite the familiarity.
Everything considered, this book was difficult for me to read and took a lot out of me while I attempted to understand it. It is powerful, yes, and the parts I did understand broke my heart. Even so, I remain undecided if Bestiary is brilliantly creative or has a tad too much surrealism.
Nevertheless, I recommend this book for anyone who loves Asian literature and magical realism, and who has the brain power to process its rich imagery and symbolism. If you get squeamish easily but really want to read this book, be prepared to take lots of breaks in between pages.
Brimming with imagery and symbolism, vulgarity and rawness, Bestiary by K-Ming Chang is a familiar story of alienation, resilience and survival told in (while being made unfamiliar by) bizarre prose saturated with magical realism. There are layers upon layers in this story, made complex by two main factors.
The first of which is that there is no traditional plot structure as the story unravels without linearity. It jumps from one point of view to another, switching between Daughter, Mother and Grandmother without much care for order. But, despite this, it is clear that Bestiary is a story of identity, though there’s a notable lack of names.
The other is the significance of vulgarity in this book. Now, I’m not someone who shies away from vulgarity in literature, but there is just way too much of it here. The first half of the book is especially bursting with mentions of body parts and bodily functions. A small part of me hesitantly believes that the closeness of filth and the Asian characters here are meant to be ironic because Asians have been stereotyped as dirty. But, a greater part of me is unsure of their significance within the story and outside of it—the potential contexts elude me despite the familiarity.
Everything considered, this book was difficult for me to read and took a lot out of me while I attempted to understand it. It is powerful, yes, and the parts I did understand broke my heart. Even so, I remain undecided if Bestiary is brilliantly creative or has a tad too much surrealism.
Nevertheless, I recommend this book for anyone who loves Asian literature and magical realism, and who has the brain power to process its rich imagery and symbolism. If you get squeamish easily but really want to read this book, be prepared to take lots of breaks in between pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Dysphoria, and Excrement
Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, and Gore
Minor: Racism and Suicide attempt
tintededges's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
slow-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
Check out my full review here: Bestiary | Tinted Edges
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Racism
leah_alexandra's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a really strange and beautiful book. I didn’t love it, but I can appreciate it for what it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Xenophobia, Death, Violence, Vomit, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, and Domestic abuse