Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Birds in the Mouth by Samanta Schweblin

18 reviews

year23's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Hard book to read given recent events (particularly the story "Heads Against Concrete"). These are unsettling stories - some work better than others. 

The first story felt so familiar - I swear I've seen it in movie/tv form. I'm curious to read this author's other novel Fever Dream after this. I think I wanted more from at least half of the stories, but in terms of grappling with the underbelly of humanity and nature, it's successful. The writing is accessible, immediately draws you in and creates a scene, vibe, and strong characters. I want to stay with it - explore the depths more of these little worlds the author creates, but again, not really a short story collection at that point. 

 Do check the content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Death, and Hate crime

emory's review against another edition

challenging dark

4.0

I really enjoyed this book and was a bit sad to see how many reviews were negative, and not about the writing itself, but about how they were unaware of the upsetting content! So if you by odds read reviews before deciding to read a book, know that there are, in particular, a story including the graphic death of small birds (eponymous story Mouthful of Birds), a story in which the narrator is forced to kill a dog (The Test), and a story from the point of view of a man violently racist against Korean and other Asian people (Heads Against Concrete). All are challenging reads, and I don't know if I'm particularly happy with how the final in that list was handled, but they do serve a purpose, although are easily skippable if necessary.

This is such a unique collection. I've had it on my radar since reading Fever Dream and absolutely adoring it. This is such a haunting writing style. Schweblin's characters all exist in the perfect space between realistic enough not to break the reader's suspension of disbelief yet odd enough to consistently intrigue and unsettle. The mood drives the stories, and close to all of them left me with a disquietting and moved feeling at their conclusion with only a few pages each. Some are allegorical--and I find these ones particularly strong--some are simply about the feelings they evoke, and some I haven't figured out yet. But if you are also looking for stories in which the author is setting you up with something to think about rather than giving you all the answers, I think this is an excellent short story collection. I especially loved her exploration of depression and hopelessness, parent and child relationships, and the nature of violence in art. There were a couple of stories that did not work for me, and sometimes i found the pacing challenging, but overall I found this a very good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Racism, Animal cruelty, Violence, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Moderate: Physical abuse and Child abuse

One story (Heads Against Concrete) is written from the POV of a violent racist attempting to justify himself. He is explicitly racist against specifically Korean people and others of Asian descent. Includes mention of physical assault against these groups, as well as others throughout the narrator's life including a girlfriend. Another story (The Test) is about a person who must kill a dog in order to prove themselves to a group of people. Graphic and upsetting.

ek4therin4h's review against another edition

dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

heidishartrandnewell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Death, Violence, Murder, Infertility, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Homophobia, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, Ableism, Abortion, Cancer, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

jtkerlin's review against another edition

challenging dark

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Majority of stories simply end

christiona's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Violence

ireneac's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

millyfox's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, and Gore

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Mental illness, and Abortion

wikikapusta's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Gore, Infidelity, Violence, and Abortion

savvylit's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Schweblin is an absolute master of realism-rooted horror. In Headlight, a group of abandoned brides gather their rage. In Butterflies, a man idolizes his daughter's beauty to devastating effect. In Toward Happy Civilization, a man finds himself forced to live at a train station. Every single one of the stories in this collection is a bite-sized experience of discomfort. Highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys horror where the scariest thing is human nature.

 One of the stories, The Test, is solely about animal cruelty. I personally had to skim it because I cannot stomach reading about that type of violence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Grief, Violence, and Murder