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raoulalexander's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the best short story collection I've read so far
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Rape
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, and Addiction
sydapel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.75
I enjoyed this a lot more than 'Real Life', though I'm skeptical if the 'interconnected short story' format worked for me, at least in audiobook form. It makes the story at the core, and thereby the story I was most invested in, feel disjointed and a little less developed in comparison. Despite this, the emotional heart in each of the stories is deeply felt, always centering a craving for intimacy or something past or future that seems too far to grasp.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Alcohol, Excrement, Cancer, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
marjoleinvanderspoel's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Brandon Taylor continues to prove his immense skill with this collection of short stories unlike any other such collection I've read. With this collection Taylor proves his breadth as a story teller by branching into many different kinds of lives, whilst maintaining an atmosphere that keeps the collection coherent. The incorporation of an overarching or recurring story about Lionel, Charles and Sophie was cleverly done, and the story itself was wonderfully complex and compelling, reminiscent of Real Life in it's dealing with mental health and academia, something that I appreciated enormously in his debut. In addition I greatly enjoyed "as if that were love" and perhaps my favourite story, "anne of cleves". I only wish we would have gotten a story from Sophie's perspective as I found her to be a much more interesting character than Charles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, and Cancer
Moderate: Homophobia, Vomit, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death, Addiction, and Domestic abuse
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor ❄️
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
❄️ In this collection of short stories, Taylor explores the emotional charge that runs just under the surface of our encounters with other people. The linked short stories at the centre of the collection focus on three people: Lionel, a PhD student recently discharged from hospital after a suicide attempt; Charles, the injured dancer who becomes attracted to Lionel at a potluck, and Sophie, Charles's dancer girlfriend. As Lionel becomes drawn into the murky waters of Charles and Sophie's relationship, he must weigh his deep loneliness against his continued vulnerability.
There's really no excuse for me putting off reading this for so long, except that I loved Real Life so much that I was afraid of having such Big Feelings again. But you know what? I was right to be, because Brandon Taylor wields his pen like a scalpel.
Throughout this book, Taylor probes what it means to be vulnerable. He is a master of illustrating the artificiality of social settings: a dinner party, a first date, a university exam. All the opaque stuff we move through to try to reach each other - or rather, to mediate our interactions so that we don't have to reach each other, so we can broadcast ourselves from a safe distance. His stories illustrate the life and feeling seething beneath this calm surface, and the moments where characters unexpectedly connect feel raw and thrilling, charged with danger.
This sense of danger is present not just as an idea but an embodied thing. Food, sex, blood, all of these things are closely connected to the emotional heart of each story. The characters' emotional fragility (or seeming lack thereof) is always carefully pitched against their physical being, the tether they have to the world, lending real weight to acts of cruelty or tenderness. There's something raw and animal and real about these stories that I couldn't help but love.
❄️ Read it if you're in the market for a short story cycle, or a wintry book as this is all snowdrifts and low-hanging skies. And obv if you loved Real Life ❤️
🚫 Avoid if you're steering clear of narratives around suicide and physical or sexual violence.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
❄️ In this collection of short stories, Taylor explores the emotional charge that runs just under the surface of our encounters with other people. The linked short stories at the centre of the collection focus on three people: Lionel, a PhD student recently discharged from hospital after a suicide attempt; Charles, the injured dancer who becomes attracted to Lionel at a potluck, and Sophie, Charles's dancer girlfriend. As Lionel becomes drawn into the murky waters of Charles and Sophie's relationship, he must weigh his deep loneliness against his continued vulnerability.
There's really no excuse for me putting off reading this for so long, except that I loved Real Life so much that I was afraid of having such Big Feelings again. But you know what? I was right to be, because Brandon Taylor wields his pen like a scalpel.
Throughout this book, Taylor probes what it means to be vulnerable. He is a master of illustrating the artificiality of social settings: a dinner party, a first date, a university exam. All the opaque stuff we move through to try to reach each other - or rather, to mediate our interactions so that we don't have to reach each other, so we can broadcast ourselves from a safe distance. His stories illustrate the life and feeling seething beneath this calm surface, and the moments where characters unexpectedly connect feel raw and thrilling, charged with danger.
This sense of danger is present not just as an idea but an embodied thing. Food, sex, blood, all of these things are closely connected to the emotional heart of each story. The characters' emotional fragility (or seeming lack thereof) is always carefully pitched against their physical being, the tether they have to the world, lending real weight to acts of cruelty or tenderness. There's something raw and animal and real about these stories that I couldn't help but love.
❄️ Read it if you're in the market for a short story cycle, or a wintry book as this is all snowdrifts and low-hanging skies. And obv if you loved Real Life ❤️
🚫 Avoid if you're steering clear of narratives around suicide and physical or sexual violence.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Vomit, and Sexual assault
pippyv's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Fun main story but the other short stories detracted heavily. The descriptions of the gay women in the one story they featured in, while not entirely inaccurate, were generic and lifeless compared with the standard set by male characters of any sexuality in the rest of the book and overall it was a bit insultingly lazy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Eating disorder
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