Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Bestiary by K-Ming Chang

2 reviews

stevie's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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nocturnalreader's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny informative mysterious 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

4.0

Setting: Taiwan | Themes: Violent Impulses and Desire | Plot: Medium paced 
Author: K-Ming Chang 
Content Warning: Violence, Bodily functions/Amputation, and Child abuse 
 
Blurb: One evening, Mother tells Daughter a story about a tiger spirit who lived in a woman’s body. She was called Hu Gu Po, and she hungered to eat children, especially their toes. Soon afterwards, Daughter awakes with a tiger tail. And more mysterious events follow: Holes in the backyard spit up letters penned by her grandmother; a visiting aunt arrives with snakes in her belly; a brother tests the possibility of flight. All the while, Daughter is falling for Ben, a neighborhood girl with strange powers of her own. As the two young lovers translate the grandmother’s letters, Daughter begins to understand that each woman in her family embodies a myth–and that she will have to bring her family’s secrets to light in order to change their destiny. 
 
Bestiary is a retelling of Taiwanese folklore that weaves mythology across three generations with a queer love story. The story revolves around three generations of Taiwenese women Ama, mother, and daughter and as you proceed, the plot unfolds their story of their lives carried by a multigenerational secret which is marked by war, poverty, queer love, desire, survival, and immigration. 
 
I have mixed feelings about this book. Though the story is refreshing yet I felt the writing is crude which couldn’t help me to connect with the characters. The main challenge is with the strong and intense language with body fluid and visceral descriptions that couldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. 
However, there are moments that made me laugh and instances that are thought provoking. One can either thoroughly enjoy and love this book or might leave it behind. 
 
Thank you @NetGalley and @randomhouseUK for sharing the eArc in exchange for an honest review. 
 
Stars: 🐅🐅🐅🐅 


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