Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

3 reviews

emma_bean's review

funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A very intriguing read that will stick with me for a long time. This book would hold up well to thorough analysis. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Violence

Minor: Animal death

sunnydale's review

challenging funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Not my favorite of her books that I've read, but still a solid read that left me thinking for a long time after.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Gun violence

Animal death details:

The protagonist describes what he believes is his dead pet mongoose. It is actually a mongoose statue and not a dead animal at all.

Characters are held at gunpoint

but not shot at.

Main character questions his own sanity and sanity of other characters, though not in an ableist way.

cheye13's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious fast-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? Yes

5.0

I need to reread this. Immediately. I have no clue what this was.

Like with Gingerbread, I found myself reeling trying to follow the frame structure and construct a linear timeline, but because it's written with such whimsy and spirit, I relished the challenge. This one clips right along – while I was trying to decipher one metaphor or meaningful event, we'd popped on to the next one. I do really think there's something here – about memory, personhood, legend... something. But it slipped through my fingers on this first read.

And yet it was just so fun and frightening and funny (Otis's narration made me laugh out loud more than once) that once I finished it, I wanted to flip right back to the beginning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Mental illness and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

content warnings are approximations, as it's hard to separate literal from figurative. animal death cw for brief descriptions of/about taxidermy.