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gabybenitez's review
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
I don’t even know where to start! this book is a masterpiece. an exercise in wildness. k-ming chang bends language to create new ways of looking at the world in all of her work. bestiary reshapes human as animal, animal as earth, earth as body — and I have never read a book that so truthfully tells what it is to have a body! bestiary is full of the language of the body, of trauma and violence, of prayer, of desire and want, of orifices and bodily fluids. a book about rewriting and revising ancestral / generational trauma. and the queer eroticism! a book that is so queer and yet the queerness is not a plot point/place of conflict — we love to see it! the candor and humor in this book is also impeccable —
some favorite quotes:
“all men are synonyms and none the word you’re looking for”
“costco: the only place in the country where you could buy your cradle and your casket”
“if the body is really mostly water, then how come it can burn ?”
some favorite quotes:
“all men are synonyms and none the word you’re looking for”
“costco: the only place in the country where you could buy your cradle and your casket”
“if the body is really mostly water, then how come it can burn ?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and War
tamaru22's review
2.0
DNF 18%. Too much imagery that seemed to clash amongst itself, like mixed metaphor. Sparse imagery would carry further. I just felt like everything was smashed onto my skull. In this was it's like poetry and I think I would have liked to have read short poems that linked into a story, digestible in single units.
Some parts were beautifully written but too much imagery started to make me feel like there was no real image.
Then there was the piss and shit multiple times on each page. I get it, the book is edgy. Just like the flowery, evocative prose, it's just too damn much.
Again, high praise from critics and I'm obviously missing something, but I could not wade through it. I am interested in checking out the author's poetry though, so some good came for me.
Some parts were beautifully written but too much imagery started to make me feel like there was no real image.
Then there was the piss and shit multiple times on each page. I get it, the book is edgy. Just like the flowery, evocative prose, it's just too damn much.
Again, high praise from critics and I'm obviously missing something, but I could not wade through it. I am interested in checking out the author's poetry though, so some good came for me.
carson_lommers's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
So challenging but often very rewarding. I can’t say I understand all of it, but I think only the author does. I think it was worth the read though, and I loved her style of writing.
carissachristenson's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.75
Not everyone will enjoy this book, but I loved it. I picked it up on a whim while walking through the library, and I’m glad I did! It’s weird, but it’s beautiful, and I love K-Ming Chang’s writing style!
dingokitty14's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katndrsn's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shebbyreads's review
2.75
I liked some of this book but it was just gross. I thought I would adjust or it would make sense as to why it was so gross but it just didn’t. I’m sure some people would love this book but it wasn’t for me and that’s ok!
alittlegreyfish's review
5.0
I mean this language is devastating. Just read it. What a stunning blend of magic realism, immigrant history, unreliable narrator, a female coming of age story, tracing stories through multiple generations, folklore, just wow. I'm going to need a minute so just enjoy some quotes. This is definitely the right book to kick off 2021.
When the doctor asked if we have a history of heart disease, my mother said, “No we have no history, just stories, a long record of surviving our countries.”
I see the way you wear your hands without worry, but someday they’ll bury something. Someday this story will open like a switchblade. Your hands will plot their own holes, and when they do, I won’t come and rescue you.
In the dark, I watched the geography of her face rearrange the mountain range of moles on her forehead, the hook of her lip lowering when she fished up a story.
When the doctor asked if we have a history of heart disease, my mother said, “No we have no history, just stories, a long record of surviving our countries.”
I see the way you wear your hands without worry, but someday they’ll bury something. Someday this story will open like a switchblade. Your hands will plot their own holes, and when they do, I won’t come and rescue you.
In the dark, I watched the geography of her face rearrange the mountain range of moles on her forehead, the hook of her lip lowering when she fished up a story.