Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

69 reviews

christynhoover's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It was the audiobook and I didn't give it the concentrated attention that it probably deserved. 

It was part dystopian and part speculative fiction. Eventually I recognized that descendents of earlier characters were appearing in the story line so it unfolds as a collection of connected stories over maybe a 100-year period in the course of the book.

The most interesting part was that there is what I'll call a novel micro-organism that causes a worldwide pandemic (called "plague" in the book) that was generally fatal and how individuals dealt with mortality knocking at their door  So a kind of story for/of our time! But by midway or so in the book the storyline is in the AFTERMATH of the plague with individuals looking back on it, etc.

There was a thread of a focus on LOVE --characters making it a point to TELL others that they love them and, in some cases, characters expressing REGRET at NOT telling someone that they loved them. That softened the tone of the book for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Animal death, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Grief, Death, and Death of parent

cakeylu's review against another edition

Finding it really hard to get into this one. An unfortunate case of just being the wrong headspace at the wrong time, which is such a shame because I was really looking forward to it. I borrowed this from the library and it has to go back on Monday so I'm not going to finish it in time because the motivation just isn't there. I may revisit it in the future as it is well written and I do want to follow the over arching story to its conclusion, but I do struggle with short stories (which is what this is, essentially) so I need to come back to it in a better state of mind. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Vomit, Death, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Animal death, and Child death

horizonous's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Animal death, and Child death

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Racism, Car accident, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Murder

madzsmiled's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I will be thinking about this book for a long time. It'd equal parts devastating and beautiful, centering around dying, mourning, and family. I have never read a book that features a body farm, and it does so in such an interesting way. In a world still recovering from so much death, Nagamatsu paints a hopeful future based in community and love in all forms. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Terminal illness, Child death, and Animal death

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Suicide, and Animal death

Minor: Cancer and Sexual content

booksandteatime's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal death, Chronic illness, and Death

emmonsannae's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not sure whether to give this book a 2 or a 5—it’s brilliant and I largely did not enjoy it. The main theme (and the one from which the novel gets its name) is the lengths to which humans are able to stretch to form community and help each other, and the ways all living things are interrelated over time and space. The main subject matter is inherently distressing, though, resulting in a beautiful book that is phenomenally executed and which I hope I never have to read again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Mental illness, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

shoshin's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

I cried, I was constantly surprised and unprepared, I thought and felt deeply. A trip and a half. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Abandonment, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Violence, Dementia, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and War

If you like to be warned about disturbing content:

There is euthanasia of children in large numbers. There is also a sentient pig who chooses to die rather than suffer a painful death or be studied by the government. These are both pretty graphic descriptions, and aren't really captured by the content warnings. It's an intense book.

puckeverlasting's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

An excellent read, this thought provoking book will remind you to hold your loved ones just a little bit closer tonight. While the vignettes themselves are incredibly dark in premise, the underlying themes regarding hope and the inherent beauty in humanity serve as a powerful juxtaposition. The tie-ins between stories were satisfying, and

the hints to the end twist were easy to follow while still allowing for an interesting conclusion

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Chronic illness, Death, Body horror, Suicide, Child death, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

Graphic illness-related death, including frequent child death. The "dystopian" aspects of the boon hit a little close to home after COVID, so if any of this is a potential trigger, I would pass on this one. This is a gorgeous book and worth the read for many, but doesn't shy away from it's dark themes

fraise's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, Child death, Cancer, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Pregnancy, Classism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Sexism