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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Creepy and delightful. Sad and hopeful.
I love verse novels so I may be biased but this book was so good.
I love verse novels so I may be biased but this book was so good.
Thanks to Text Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this story! All opinions are still very much my own
3.5 Stars*
So here's the thing. I'm not typically a fan of books written in verse. I always find them a bit too abstract and leave the book without feeling like I fully get the story. This book was the easiest to grasp out of all of the ones I've tried, and I actually quite liked the format.
That being said, the story itself wasn't the most compelling to me as I don't really feel like there was all that much development. It follows a young girl and her exploration of taxidermy as a way to cope with the grief she's faced after losing her mother. As a concept, I thought that sounded great, and it was, it was just generally a little bland.
There was also a weird vaguely romantic side plot involving a friend who is one of the very few black kids at her school, but again, this didn't seem fully developed and didn't really add much in my opinion.
This was very well written, with really beautiful prose, but I just found it all a little meh.
Trigger and Content Warnings: loss of a loved one, death of an animal, descriptions of dead animals, taxidermy described in detail, racism, underlying sexism and "girls must do _____" attitude.
3.5 Stars*
So here's the thing. I'm not typically a fan of books written in verse. I always find them a bit too abstract and leave the book without feeling like I fully get the story. This book was the easiest to grasp out of all of the ones I've tried, and I actually quite liked the format.
That being said, the story itself wasn't the most compelling to me as I don't really feel like there was all that much development. It follows a young girl and her exploration of taxidermy as a way to cope with the grief she's faced after losing her mother. As a concept, I thought that sounded great, and it was, it was just generally a little bland.
There was also a weird vaguely romantic side plot involving a friend who is one of the very few black kids at her school, but again, this didn't seem fully developed and didn't really add much in my opinion.
This was very well written, with really beautiful prose, but I just found it all a little meh.
Trigger and Content Warnings: loss of a loved one, death of an animal, descriptions of dead animals, taxidermy described in detail, racism, underlying sexism and "girls must do _____" attitude.
Somehow when I picked up THE ART OF TAXIDERMY I didn't realize it was a book told in verse, so I was pleasantly surprised after the first poem turned out to be the beginning of the story, not just part of a preface.
This is a beautiful story of a girl and her family torn with grief. Wrecked by the deaths of two people close to her, Lottie becomes enthralled with dead animals, and wants to take care of them and eventually wants to bring them back to life. Her stern aunt is horrified, but Lottie is not deterred.
This is a short book you read for its exquisite prose, and for the simplicity and generosity of the story, not because it's a thrill read, or a twisty tale with surprises in the corners. Instead, it brings you into the hearts of its characters through its slow beauty, wrapping you up in a coming of age story that will sit with you after you are long finished.
Thanks Text Publishing and NetGalley for the early read!
This is a beautiful story of a girl and her family torn with grief. Wrecked by the deaths of two people close to her, Lottie becomes enthralled with dead animals, and wants to take care of them and eventually wants to bring them back to life. Her stern aunt is horrified, but Lottie is not deterred.
This is a short book you read for its exquisite prose, and for the simplicity and generosity of the story, not because it's a thrill read, or a twisty tale with surprises in the corners. Instead, it brings you into the hearts of its characters through its slow beauty, wrapping you up in a coming of age story that will sit with you after you are long finished.
Thanks Text Publishing and NetGalley for the early read!
I wasn't sure how I felt as I read it but by the end it was oddly beautiful.
An utterly engaging and intriguing narrative of poems about a child--later a young woman--and her ability to see beauty in death, despite the social and familial pressures not to do so. The writing is evocative and visual--and visceral--and the reading experience that it provides is unique and lasting.
Provided by the State Library Victoria as part of the Inky Awards.
I wanted to like this book more than I did, and this was my second experience ever with a verse-novel, especially after I quite enjoyed the first one. The concept is also real interesting and challenges a lot of things with modern day society, it really does, though I can’t help think that this book was simply really boring. It took me five days to read this little thing, and while I had stuff on, I can generally finish a book like this is no more than two days, if not one. Every time, I was reluctant to pick it up again and while it is a very quick read, it does not really amount to much.
It follows a girl called Lottie who is in love with Taxidermy which the art/process of stuffing dead animals, though Aunt Hilda, who she lives with hugely disproves and makes Lottie’s father to make her stop it to little avail. The book is set somewhere in Australia sometime after the Second World War. Lottie had a sister who is quiet a prominent character who died when she was six, so she acted kind of like spiritual support in a sense, constantly in the background. There is an aboriginal boy(hey, diversity!) called Jeffrey which can be called the love interest, though Lottie only turns thirteen this book and is just starting puberty and they go as far as a gentle kiss and that is it.
What is good is that the book does bring up a lot of controversial things, challenging gender and race. Lottie and her family are German, and both of her parents and grandparents, who are called Oma and Opa were locked up in prison when the war was going on. Her mother would die giving birth due to poor conditions. Later on, when Lottie takes photos to school, she and her family who are wearing German uniforms are called the like of Nazi’s, a Kraut, and Jew Killer’s, when her family escaped German because they did not like the Nazi regime.
Lottie herself wants to be a Taxidermist, and absolutely loves Taxidermy despite all attempts to stop her by her Aunt, which includes destroying all of creations at one time. Her aunt tries to make her to be a nurse, or teacher, something that supposedly suits a ‘female’, yet all she wants to do is to work at the Museum on Taxidermy. It is interesting as she has no wish to have a job that stereotypical seems to be what a woman does, which is great, as I am a strong believer in that anyone should be able to do whatever they want in their lives, and that a person’s background, race or gender should not effect that.
Despite all the great things about the book, it was still so very, very boring. As stated, it should not have taken me five days to read such a small book, and yet it did. It took me the same amount of time to read [b: World Without End|5064|World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509545511l/5064._SY75_.jpg|2845518], which makes it sort of ridiculous. Not a whole lot happened and many of the conversations feel the same. Lottie stuffs a creature, Aunt Hilda complains, tries to make her sew something, and repeat. There wasn’t a lot of chemistry and the book, which is beautifully written in verse made me feel empty, instead of loving or emphatic, which I found was a real shame. While there are a few nice things about it, the book was far to boring for it to have received a higher rating.
I would not exactly recommend this book, though it does have lots of very interesting themes that challenges modern day society. 6/10
I wanted to like this book more than I did, and this was my second experience ever with a verse-novel, especially after I quite enjoyed the first one. The concept is also real interesting and challenges a lot of things with modern day society, it really does, though I can’t help think that this book was simply really boring. It took me five days to read this little thing, and while I had stuff on, I can generally finish a book like this is no more than two days, if not one. Every time, I was reluctant to pick it up again and while it is a very quick read, it does not really amount to much.
It follows a girl called Lottie who is in love with Taxidermy which the art/process of stuffing dead animals, though Aunt Hilda, who she lives with hugely disproves and makes Lottie’s father to make her stop it to little avail. The book is set somewhere in Australia sometime after the Second World War. Lottie had a sister who is quiet a prominent character who died when she was six, so she acted kind of like spiritual support in a sense, constantly in the background. There is an aboriginal boy(hey, diversity!) called Jeffrey which can be called the love interest, though Lottie only turns thirteen this book and is just starting puberty and they go as far as a gentle kiss and that is it.
What is good is that the book does bring up a lot of controversial things, challenging gender and race. Lottie and her family are German, and both of her parents and grandparents, who are called Oma and Opa were locked up in prison when the war was going on. Her mother would die giving birth due to poor conditions. Later on, when Lottie takes photos to school, she and her family who are wearing German uniforms are called the like of Nazi’s, a Kraut, and Jew Killer’s, when her family escaped German because they did not like the Nazi regime.
Lottie herself wants to be a Taxidermist, and absolutely loves Taxidermy despite all attempts to stop her by her Aunt, which includes destroying all of creations at one time. Her aunt tries to make her to be a nurse, or teacher, something that supposedly suits a ‘female’, yet all she wants to do is to work at the Museum on Taxidermy. It is interesting as she has no wish to have a job that stereotypical seems to be what a woman does, which is great, as I am a strong believer in that anyone should be able to do whatever they want in their lives, and that a person’s background, race or gender should not effect that.
Despite all the great things about the book, it was still so very, very boring. As stated, it should not have taken me five days to read such a small book, and yet it did. It took me the same amount of time to read [b: World Without End|5064|World Without End (Kingsbridge, #2)|Ken Follett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509545511l/5064._SY75_.jpg|2845518], which makes it sort of ridiculous. Not a whole lot happened and many of the conversations feel the same. Lottie stuffs a creature, Aunt Hilda complains, tries to make her sew something, and repeat. There wasn’t a lot of chemistry and the book, which is beautifully written in verse made me feel empty, instead of loving or emphatic, which I found was a real shame. While there are a few nice things about it, the book was far to boring for it to have received a higher rating.
I would not exactly recommend this book, though it does have lots of very interesting themes that challenges modern day society. 6/10
At first, I didn’t think I was going to like this. It is a weird premise for a book. But wow, I was wrong. This prose was beautiful and understated. And it had me thinking of Tim Burton meets Vada from My Girl set in Australia. I just wanted to reach out and hug Charlotte. You really feel for her and eventually her family as you learn their tragic history. I had no idea how Germans, Japanese and Italians were treated in Australia during WWII. I was able to read this in one sitting and it’s going to sit with me for awhile.
TW: As the title suggests, there is a lot of death involved.
TW: As the title suggests, there is a lot of death involved.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
3 1/2 stars.
This entire story is written in a prose style via a series of poems. All of the poems are written in first person from the point of view of Charlotte (Lottie), the preteen narrator. It's a rather imaginative way to write a book and I have to say that it actually works pretty well. I enjoyed the style and the writing. It felt comfortable and appropriate for the character.
There was a keen sense of mystery surrounding some of the bits and pieces of the story, which came to light through the pages a little bit at a time. It is rather cleverly done and I enjoyed the movement of the story.
My only issue with this one (as tends to be my downfall on many an occasion) was the ending. I left the story feeling unfulfilled. This isn't to say that the ending is a bad one. It wraps up in a way that makes sense given the previous pieces of narrative. I just couldn't get myself settled with it. Perhaps that is some of the intention, but I didn't like the uncomfortable way leaving it made me feel.
3 1/2 stars.
This entire story is written in a prose style via a series of poems. All of the poems are written in first person from the point of view of Charlotte (Lottie), the preteen narrator. It's a rather imaginative way to write a book and I have to say that it actually works pretty well. I enjoyed the style and the writing. It felt comfortable and appropriate for the character.
There was a keen sense of mystery surrounding some of the bits and pieces of the story, which came to light through the pages a little bit at a time. It is rather cleverly done and I enjoyed the movement of the story.
My only issue with this one (as tends to be my downfall on many an occasion) was the ending. I left the story feeling unfulfilled. This isn't to say that the ending is a bad one. It wraps up in a way that makes sense given the previous pieces of narrative. I just couldn't get myself settled with it. Perhaps that is some of the intention, but I didn't like the uncomfortable way leaving it made me feel.
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 received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot is a novel in verse that explores death and grief as well as how we deal with it all. Novels in verse aren't normally my go-to style, but this is absolutely worthy reading. Due to the style, it can go very quickly if you don't slow down to savor it. Kernot's writing is wonderfully lyrical and rhythmical, yet somewhat spare. It can be a bit repetitive at times though. I wouldn't say the book is exactly exciting, but overall the author handles the topic at hand very well and she writes beautifully. I may need to explore more of Sharon Kernot's writing in the future.
The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot is a novel in verse that explores death and grief as well as how we deal with it all. Novels in verse aren't normally my go-to style, but this is absolutely worthy reading. Due to the style, it can go very quickly if you don't slow down to savor it. Kernot's writing is wonderfully lyrical and rhythmical, yet somewhat spare. It can be a bit repetitive at times though. I wouldn't say the book is exactly exciting, but overall the author handles the topic at hand very well and she writes beautifully. I may need to explore more of Sharon Kernot's writing in the future.