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anxiousnachos's review against another edition
dark
3.25
Well this was a weird fever dream of brutality. And you’d think with those words I would have adored it…and I definitely think Yoder has so much skill, there were moments of genius and I love the idea. The prose and brutal nature of the book viscerally makes me never want to have children. But somehow despite the book’s fairly short length, it still felt too long? The first 50 pages were my favourite and I feel like none of the ideas ever really developed from these first pages, the whole book was just more of the same.
Note: There’s an extremely graphic, gruesome cat murder scene that I found extremely disturbing as a cat owner myself and hadn’t been expecting.
Content warnings: graphic killing of a cat, animal death, animal cruelty, body horror, childbirth, child neglect, emotional abuse, blood and gore
Note: There’s an extremely graphic, gruesome cat murder scene that I found extremely disturbing as a cat owner myself and hadn’t been expecting.
Content warnings: graphic killing of a cat, animal death, animal cruelty, body horror, childbirth, child neglect, emotional abuse, blood and gore
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, and Pregnancy
sarah_bookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this but I don't think I expected it to wrap things up so neatly at the end. For a book about the messiness and carnal destruction of motherhood, it really tied things up in a profit-driven little bow at the end. I also took issue with the sentence that claims rabbit ears have bones... they don't. Ears are cartilage.
I did really enjoy the visceral language, however, and the spectacle of the whole story kept me enthralled.
I did really enjoy the visceral language, however, and the spectacle of the whole story kept me enthralled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror and Cursing
Minor: Drug use
svb96's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Body horror
slimy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have never read anything like this. Rachel Yoder really hit the gas and kept pushing. Didn’t let up for a second. Saw your hand fly to the handle, locked the door and said buckle up babe.
This book follows a woman in her early 30’s as she struggles with her sense of identity and purpose while being a stay at home mom to her toddler son. She becomes paranoid that she is turning into a dog and wrestles with her instincts as a mother, as an individual, and as a Woman. She finds amusement and comfort in the support of other women. She finds balance in letting her odd instincts take over. She kills her house cat and starts to eat raw meat. She crate trains her son.
This is a creative and surreal journey into self-identity within and alongside motherhood and womanhood.
This book follows a woman in her early 30’s as she struggles with her sense of identity and purpose while being a stay at home mom to her toddler son.
This is a creative and surreal journey into self-identity within and alongside motherhood and womanhood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Blood, and Gaslighting
freyanjani's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is surprisingly my favorite read of 2022 so far (as of July), and I didn’t expect to love it as much as I do. Despite being WEIRD beyond comprehension at times, this is the kind of weird that I love getting behind of. The kind of book I absolutely think is brilliant but I won’t reccomend it to someone unless I’m certain they’re a weirdo as well. It felt like an absurd A24 movie that makes me search up explainations for after watching.
I love the fleabag-esque, no name main character style of the writing and though the story can drone on for too long at times—the writing is marvelous. It’s the perfect combination of modern day sarcasm and poetic goodness.
It’s also a really interesting spin on motherhood. I’ve thought of the specific yearning and rage that comes with motherhood, but to connect it to animalistic desires? Genius. As a young person who consider having a kid one day, it did make me rethink what it actually means to be a mother and how complex a marriage can be even if things were perfect during the dating phase.
I don’t think this book is perfect, but it’s the book that pierced through my perception and taste in literature. It made me realize a book doesn’t have to be perfect for me to absolutely love it. Did I think it was horrendous and overly gory at times? Yeah. But it truly made reading this an experience I’ve never felt before.
I do think the author could have dialed down on the description during The Cat scene… but I digress. It’s artistic… I Guess.
All in all, wouldn’t reccomend it unless you have the stomach for it, but either way it’ll give you a truck load of experience.
I love the fleabag-esque, no name main character style of the writing and though the story can drone on for too long at times—the writing is marvelous. It’s the perfect combination of modern day sarcasm and poetic goodness.
It’s also a really interesting spin on motherhood. I’ve thought of the specific yearning and rage that comes with motherhood, but to connect it to animalistic desires? Genius. As a young person who consider having a kid one day, it did make me rethink what it actually means to be a mother and how complex a marriage can be even if things were perfect during the dating phase.
I don’t think this book is perfect, but it’s the book that pierced through my perception and taste in literature. It made me realize a book doesn’t have to be perfect for me to absolutely love it. Did I think it was horrendous and overly gory at times? Yeah. But it truly made reading this an experience I’ve never felt before.
All in all, wouldn’t reccomend it unless you have the stomach for it, but either way it’ll give you a truck load of experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, and Violence
polysemy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, and Gaslighting
nellybelly_'s review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror
annabookpaiges's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Body horror
lipsmovetheysay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
a weird and sometimes very good satire. something shifted after she killed the cat, and i’m glad i persevered to see her grow into her truest, wildest art.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, and Blood
the_savannahhumphrey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Sexism, and Blood