Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter

3 reviews

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I actually enjoyed the book much more than I had expected going into it. I really liked the first section set in Algeria and I got to experience a place and time that I'm not at all familiar with. 
I found the second and third sections less compelling (maybe because they veer towards a more "literary ficton-y" style that is not entirely my cup of tea) but I still appreciated a lot the nuanced reflections on the immigrant experience and the connected themes of assimilation, integration, and self-identity. 

Overall I liked the writing style, but at times it was a bit too much convoluted and there were some more experimental bits that I did not particularly care for.
In the first section, there are some episodes that are already quite gruesome as it is, where I felt like the very specific details were added a bit unnecessarily, sort of like throwaway specifications just for shock value. I could also have done without a very explicit circumcision scene. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Sexism, War, Gore, Murder, Racism, Grief, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

Moderate: Confinement, Child death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Animal death, and Sexual content

Minor: Drug use, Antisemitism, Cancer, Death of parent, Excrement, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Infertility, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

mephistofelix's review against another edition

informative reflective tense medium-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

vraiment un très bon livre, j’ai appris plein de choses sur la guerre d’indépendance de l’Algérie et les conséquences sur les gens que ça a touchés.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Gun violence, Death, Racism, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Torture

Minor: Misogyny, Child death, Sexism, Grief, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Infertility, Islamophobia, Animal death, and Terminal illness

ça raconte des choses dures donc des fois c’est violent mais ça n’en fait pas trop, j’ai trouvé en tout cas

astridrv's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

An in-depth exploration of one family's story of loss, grief and growth in relation to the war in Algeria. I was really excited about reading this book. It reads easily, it is very informative, and struck a chord at some pages. I am glad to have spent time with these characters, but in the end, I was not overly impressed with the writing or the structure. I would have made different choices in terms of narration - although I get that the occasional presence of a first person narrator may be useful to avoid the obvious parallel between the author and one character, I feel like it would have been more organic to just let it be and the additional voice felt like an interference. The way different time frames were woven into each other also did not feel very strong to me. As for the writing, it is accessible (which is good!) but a bit too simple and direct for me (nothing hidden, no surprises, all the character's layers were right on the surface). I am still grateful for what I learned.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Violence

Minor: Animal death and Panic attacks/disorders