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gelliestar's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.5
wayward's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
thebobsphere's review against another edition
4.0
I am a huge fan of Claire Fuller’s books. I love the way she drops hints and clues in her novels and slowly reveals her character’s backstories. I am noticing that with each book Claire Fuller manages to take this techniques to new levels.
The Memory of Animals is, to a certain extent. a science-fiction novel. The main protagonist Neffy enrols herself to test out a vaccination in order to combat a virus that is spreading (it’s not COVID-19) in the meantime a new strain of the virus has developed and is causing havoc, making the hospital staff depart and leave the test subjects to their own devices.
One of the characters creates a method for visiting the past called revisiting and Neffy responds well to it and through her revisits, we readers get a full picture of her backstory and the reason why she decided to test the vaccine. Not to give much away but it involves octopuses.
The Memory of Animals is about the trauma that memory can dredge up. Neffy’s past consists of decisions which affect her present state. In a way she’s trying to confront it but it’s the actual revisits help her overcome her actions.
Due to the fact that the novel consists of people trapped in a building it’s also about survival. As the COVID-19 pandemic is now a thing of the past, I could not help feeling a bit uncomfortable reading those sections as I’m still not 100% over the anxiety lockdown brought to me. Obviously that’s just me though.
The Memory of Animals is probably, Claire Fuller’s most layered book to date. It also contains her most memorable characters. I may be biased but I do think it’s another great novel from a consistently interesting author.
The Memory of Animals is, to a certain extent. a science-fiction novel. The main protagonist Neffy enrols herself to test out a vaccination in order to combat a virus that is spreading (it’s not COVID-19) in the meantime a new strain of the virus has developed and is causing havoc, making the hospital staff depart and leave the test subjects to their own devices.
One of the characters creates a method for visiting the past called revisiting and Neffy responds well to it and through her revisits, we readers get a full picture of her backstory and the reason why she decided to test the vaccine. Not to give much away but it involves octopuses.
The Memory of Animals is about the trauma that memory can dredge up. Neffy’s past consists of decisions which affect her present state. In a way she’s trying to confront it but it’s the actual revisits help her overcome her actions.
Due to the fact that the novel consists of people trapped in a building it’s also about survival. As the COVID-19 pandemic is now a thing of the past, I could not help feeling a bit uncomfortable reading those sections as I’m still not 100% over the anxiety lockdown brought to me. Obviously that’s just me though.
The Memory of Animals is probably, Claire Fuller’s most layered book to date. It also contains her most memorable characters. I may be biased but I do think it’s another great novel from a consistently interesting author.
readwith_adele's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Memory of Animals was weird and slightly snoozy if I’m being honest. The beginning held promise but fell off in the middle. There’s a pandemic dystopian era where the characters are test subjects for a vaccine.
There’s a lot of octopus facts, as the main character was once a marine biologist. There is also weird scenes where the main character goes into a state of revisiting the past, done through a process of vaccines, but I felt they didn’t add to the story and therefore made them useless. She writes letters to one octopus throughout the entire book that, while interesting, was strange.
2.5 stars - which is such a shame because this cover is beautiful
There’s a lot of octopus facts, as the main character was once a marine biologist. There is also weird scenes where the main character goes into a state of revisiting the past, done through a process of vaccines, but I felt they didn’t add to the story and therefore made them useless. She writes letters to one octopus throughout the entire book that, while interesting, was strange.
2.5 stars - which is such a shame because this cover is beautiful
jordieq's review against another edition
2.0
I thought this was going to be such an interesting read. It started off good and the ending was ok but the middle was very boring to me.
jessie368's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
daisysreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vanessar_769's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I won't lie, the first few chapters of this book had me hooked! First, there was the premise of an unknown viral pandemic. These types of stories, for me, read a little differently after the effects of COVID-19, and I was excited to read a story that would potentially portray all the familiar feelings I had during that time. Fear, uncertainty, the works. That, alongside the concept of our protagonist being one of a small group of volunteers participating in the first human trials for a potential vaccine-- completely isolated from her friends, family, and even her fellow volunteers-- had me excited for the journey ahead. However, I was a bit surprised and slightly confused when the focus of the plot shifted from the vaccine and pandemic before us and changed into a weird survival story with strange tech and flashback scenes with our protagonist. Potential spoilers ahead ***
First, the dream sequences with the memory "revisitor" used by Neffy throughout the story that give us a glimpse into her life before the pandemic. I actually kind of liked these scenes, but I did find myself thinking that this particular plotline was a bit out of place and didn't make a ton of sense for me in terms of the story I thought I was getting at the beginning. While it was fun to get to know Neffy through her memories, I was unsure what the "revisits" really did for the progression of the story other than act as a way for us to dig into Neffy's past and figure out why she is the way she is.
Then, we have the journal entries with 'H'. I enjoyed these parts of the book. I felt it was a great way to give us little hints about Neffy and her true feelings that she wasn't always able to tell us outright. Even though the journal entries did feel random at times, I was able to see how they connected in the end, and I did enjoy learning about octopi during the process lol.
Overall, the book was a solid 3.5-4 for me. I do wish that the pandemic/vaccine plotline had been more explored as I do feel like it kind of took a seat on the back burner. The description of the virus and its effect on people was absolutely horrifying and I would have liked to see more from the author on it. Instead, the pandemic felt like an oversight, briefly mentioned and never really discussed after the first few chapters. The ending was also a bit abrupt, but such is the nature of sickness and death. I wish we had gotten more from the BioPharm crew outside of the vaccine clinic as well. Especially after the big reveal at the end about the fate of Neffy's fellow vaccine testers.
First, the dream sequences with the memory "revisitor" used by Neffy throughout the story that give us a glimpse into her life before the pandemic. I actually kind of liked these scenes, but I did find myself thinking that this particular plotline was a bit out of place and didn't make a ton of sense for me in terms of the story I thought I was getting at the beginning. While it was fun to get to know Neffy through her memories, I was unsure what the "revisits" really did for the progression of the story other than act as a way for us to dig into Neffy's past and figure out why she is the way she is.
Then, we have the journal entries with 'H'. I enjoyed these parts of the book. I felt it was a great way to give us little hints about Neffy and her true feelings that she wasn't always able to tell us outright. Even though the journal entries did feel random at times, I was able to see how they connected in the end, and I did enjoy learning about octopi during the process lol.
Overall, the book was a solid 3.5-4 for me. I do wish that the pandemic/vaccine plotline had been more explored as I do feel like it kind of took a seat on the back burner. The description of the virus and its effect on people was absolutely horrifying and I would have liked to see more from the author on it. Instead, the pandemic felt like an oversight, briefly mentioned and never really discussed after the first few chapters. The ending was also a bit abrupt, but such is the nature of sickness and death. I wish we had gotten more from the BioPharm crew outside of the vaccine clinic as well. Especially after the big reveal at the end about the fate of Neffy's fellow vaccine testers.
anna_oreally's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0