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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
A tender, beautiful meditation on loss, grief and healing. The verse format works wonderfully in its simplicity and every word is sharp and pristine and perfectly chosen.
I love books in prose, so I loved the layout of this book!
This book deals with Charlotte's grief, and man does she have a lot. She expresses her grief in taxidermy, which her aunt absolutely hates. She tries to get her to stop throughout the whole book.
I felt that not a lot happened. I found my mind wandering while reading. It wasn't the worst book I've read, but definitely wasn't the best either,
This book deals with Charlotte's grief, and man does she have a lot. She expresses her grief in taxidermy, which her aunt absolutely hates. She tries to get her to stop throughout the whole book.
I felt that not a lot happened. I found my mind wandering while reading. It wasn't the worst book I've read, but definitely wasn't the best either,
I'll be honest, I didn't realise this novel was written in verse when I started reading it. However, I loved it. The plot itself is very simple - a young girl is struggling to cope with her own grief, and that of everyone around her - and collects dead things, partly out of morbid fascination, but also out of a desire to beauty even in death.
The simplicity (and the heart-breaking sadness that goes with this) is perfect for verse, where the bare bones of a story, and emotions, can be presented in very few words, but in a way that is even more meaningful for the reader.
Or at least, that is how it felt for me.
I loved the slow reveal of the depth of grief that Lottie is experiencing, as well as the added grief and experiences of her own family. During the novel, Lottie is 12-13 years old, which is a time when a young person might experience such adult traumas, but not know how to process them. Lottie's own way of processing these things may be both morbid and macabre, but it works beautifully.
It may be that this is partially due to how short it is, and each small poem could easily be read as a standalone, but I loved the thread of the plot and emotions running through them all. I would gladly read this again.
For me, this would not have had the same impact if it had been told in prose. The Art of Taxidermy came as a real surprise, and I loved every word of it.
*I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Text Publishing in exchange for an honest review. *
The simplicity (and the heart-breaking sadness that goes with this) is perfect for verse, where the bare bones of a story, and emotions, can be presented in very few words, but in a way that is even more meaningful for the reader.
Or at least, that is how it felt for me.
I loved the slow reveal of the depth of grief that Lottie is experiencing, as well as the added grief and experiences of her own family. During the novel, Lottie is 12-13 years old, which is a time when a young person might experience such adult traumas, but not know how to process them. Lottie's own way of processing these things may be both morbid and macabre, but it works beautifully.
It may be that this is partially due to how short it is, and each small poem could easily be read as a standalone, but I loved the thread of the plot and emotions running through them all. I would gladly read this again.
For me, this would not have had the same impact if it had been told in prose. The Art of Taxidermy came as a real surprise, and I loved every word of it.
*I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Text Publishing in exchange for an honest review. *
emotional
reflective
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:
No
Beautiful tale, brilliant for readers of all ages, emotional, moving and reflective.
My full review can be found on the Epilie Aspie Chick blog!
Thank you to Text Publishing for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I've enjoyed a lot of lyrical verses books, but this one I feel on the fence about. The story is sweet, but some of the section transfers don't make a lot of sense. Plus, they use some offensive language that while I under what the writer was attempting to convey - it's still not alright to use.
Thank you to Text Publishing for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I've enjoyed a lot of lyrical verses books, but this one I feel on the fence about. The story is sweet, but some of the section transfers don't make a lot of sense. Plus, they use some offensive language that while I under what the writer was attempting to convey - it's still not alright to use.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The first few pages of The Art of Taxidermy confused me as I didn’t know it was a verse novel. What I thought was just an introductory poem, was really the start of the actual novel. There were so few words that I found it difficult to create an image for myself. I’m a very visual person when reading, and I need to be able to make the story into a sort of personal movie in my head to be able to enjoy it. That is very difficult to do with this type of novel, though the poetry was beautifully written.
I wish this had been an actual novel, because the story itself was very captivating as well as sad. It’s about Lottie, a young girl who is descendant from Germans who fled the war, but who now lives in Australia and is obsessed with death. When you continue reading, you realise that she has had to experience so much death in her young life already that it is bound to have a certain influence on her. She turns to taxidermy as a way to prove to herself that death is not the end. Though her aunt finds this repulsive, her father sees the beauty in it, and encourages her to study the science.
Though the poems were quite short, they gave away plenty of information and in the end they made up one complete story. There were many little details tucked away in the lines that created beautiful images. I just wish there was more to read.
The first few pages of The Art of Taxidermy confused me as I didn’t know it was a verse novel. What I thought was just an introductory poem, was really the start of the actual novel. There were so few words that I found it difficult to create an image for myself. I’m a very visual person when reading, and I need to be able to make the story into a sort of personal movie in my head to be able to enjoy it. That is very difficult to do with this type of novel, though the poetry was beautifully written.
I wish this had been an actual novel, because the story itself was very captivating as well as sad. It’s about Lottie, a young girl who is descendant from Germans who fled the war, but who now lives in Australia and is obsessed with death. When you continue reading, you realise that she has had to experience so much death in her young life already that it is bound to have a certain influence on her. She turns to taxidermy as a way to prove to herself that death is not the end. Though her aunt finds this repulsive, her father sees the beauty in it, and encourages her to study the science.
Though the poems were quite short, they gave away plenty of information and in the end they made up one complete story. There were many little details tucked away in the lines that created beautiful images. I just wish there was more to read.
i enjoyed that the book was different and it was a quick read. Lottie is a girl who loves science and animals and is fascinated by death. Her mother has passed away and we find out later how some other family members have passed away too.
Her aunt has helped raise her and Lottie scares her with her fascination with dead animals and trying to figure out how to save their bodies. I was glad her father was supportive of her desire to learn.
I enjoyed the book and the illustrations were lovely!
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.
Her aunt has helped raise her and Lottie scares her with her fascination with dead animals and trying to figure out how to save their bodies. I was glad her father was supportive of her desire to learn.
I enjoyed the book and the illustrations were lovely!
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for the honest review.
I studied this book for school and I loved it. It is about Lottie, a young German-Australian in the 1960s dealing with feelings of loss, isolation, and loneliness. She takes up an interest in taxidermy as a way to connect with beings that have had life taken away from them. The poetic structure, the storyline, the emotional context and the overall content of the story was beautiful. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone! It is relatively short and fast-paced but is still jam-packed with information and contains a wonderful storyline.
DNF @ 80%
I don't know what really affected the story for me. Whether it was the writing or that it was in verse. I don't know if this story was told well written in verse. Maybe it would've been better in the "traditional" format but at the same time there wasn't enough story or plot. For the first 30%, I didn't even know what was happening. I was just confused to the setting and who everyone was. Then as Charlotte starting getting into taxidermy, it became much clearer. She was using it to connect with her sister over the loss of her mother and going against their aunt. But in the end the story just didn't work because it was boring.
I received an E-arc copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
I don't know what really affected the story for me. Whether it was the writing or that it was in verse. I don't know if this story was told well written in verse. Maybe it would've been better in the "traditional" format but at the same time there wasn't enough story or plot. For the first 30%, I didn't even know what was happening. I was just confused to the setting and who everyone was. Then as Charlotte starting getting into taxidermy, it became much clearer. She was using it to connect with her sister over the loss of her mother and going against their aunt. But in the end the story just didn't work because it was boring.
I received an E-arc copy of this book from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.