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taliatalksbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Animals Eat Each Other by Elle Nash was fast paced and compelling, though incredibly cruel and traumatic with each page turn. I was surprised by the lack of regard the narrator has for herself, and though this is regarded as a queer novel, it didn’t feel particularly queer. Instead, it came across (at least to me) as misogynistic and harmful to the queer community. While I think talking about queer relationships is important, there is also an importance regarding speaking about HEALTHY queer relationships. Additionally, this was more of an explicit BDSM enslavement than it was a book promoting queer relationships. While I’m not shaming anyone for their sexual preferences, it’s clear that the narrator had other issues that kept her tied to this unhealthy and frankly concerning couple throughout the 121 pages of this novel. Additionally, there wasn’t a much of a plot, rather it was a recounting of explicit moments shared between characters perpetuating a cycle of abuse. While I found it quick to read, and well written, I didn’t find the story, or explicit scenes enjoyable, even from a literary perspective. I am a firm believer in literary texts urging readers to feel discomfort and confront the reasons why they were uncomfortable, but this doesn’t ask us to confront anything in a positive way. While I respect the effort all authors pour into their novels, this one made me incredibly uncomfortable, and not in a good way. I don’t feel as though this novel made the leap from bad situation, to positive lesson/moral most literary works set out to accomplish, and though I think it had the potential, I just can’t recommend a book that doesn’t have a greater payoff to its suffering. While I don’t believe every story needs to have a positive end, I think that this story needed something more to make up for the gross abuse and misogyny of the characters who repeatedly and unapologetically use the narrator every chance they get (INCLUDING the other female characters). 2/10 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Addiction, Cursing, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexual content, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
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