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Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'
Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke
59 reviews
mkfreckles's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
lela's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mass/school shootings, and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Dementia, Alcoholism, and Child death
briggs4598's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Excellent graphic nonfiction. I appreciated the way the author combined memoir elements with sociological and psychological content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Minor: Misogyny, Animal death, Mental illness, and Grief
leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, and Animal cruelty
clarabooksit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
Unpopular opinion: this was just okay.
The data and studies that Radtke shares are interesting—the details of the Rhesus monkey study will haunt me forever—and the stories that people allowed her to share of their loneliest moments were deeply moving, but Radtke’s writing and art style felt ironically detached for such a heartfelt subject. The parts that were about the author fell flat for me, and while this is maybe unfair, I found myself wishing that Radtke had put more of her own emotions into it. Loneliness is a tough subject to capture on such a large scope and I think a more personal lens might’ve served better here.
Overall, this lacked emotional impact. It wasn’t bad but I’m not sure why so many people rave about it. Perhaps there’s a disconnect between my expectations and what this book was actually trying to deliver.
The data and studies that Radtke shares are interesting—the details of the Rhesus monkey study will haunt me forever—and the stories that people allowed her to share of their loneliest moments were deeply moving, but Radtke’s writing and art style felt ironically detached for such a heartfelt subject. The parts that were about the author fell flat for me, and while this is maybe unfair, I found myself wishing that Radtke had put more of her own emotions into it. Loneliness is a tough subject to capture on such a large scope and I think a more personal lens might’ve served better here.
Overall, this lacked emotional impact. It wasn’t bad but I’m not sure why so many people rave about it. Perhaps there’s a disconnect between my expectations and what this book was actually trying to deliver.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
lovinglyread's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Mass/school shootings
bzm0023's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
What a unique format. I loved the balance of facts and studies and statistics with personal stories and anecdotes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Mass/school shootings
extramedium's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
A bit disjointed & apparently also a series of articles for the New Yorker which may explain the lack of flow between each part. It also felt a bit melodramatic at points as the author delved into personal political beliefs (the gun violence part most notably). The end of the chapter on loneliness and gun violence really just “jumps the shark” & has the author lamenting her husband’s ownership of two hand guns (purchased before they were even dating & not in his possession at the time of writing the book) which is enough to put some “invisible strain” on their relationship (her words). After that, she sloppily tries to tie it back into the loneliness with a quick line about gun ownership as a symbol of loneliness.
I think the aspect of critically thinking about loneliness as a human condition is an interesting topic to discuss & this book will likely give readers a chance to do that. The title is a bit misleading as the topics discussed are done from an American perspective, but are by no means specific to US Americans. Be aware that it does spend quite a bit of time talking about the unethical Henry Harlow loneliness/child rearing studies on Rhesus monkeys.
The book is probably more autobiographical than a serious/scholarly foray into the topic of American loneliness, and doesn’t really posit potential solutions for bridging the gap between other people other than a general call-to-action. Interesting book that may give you some things to think about, but likely won’t change your worldview
I think the aspect of critically thinking about loneliness as a human condition is an interesting topic to discuss & this book will likely give readers a chance to do that. The title is a bit misleading as the topics discussed are done from an American perspective, but are by no means specific to US Americans. Be aware that it does spend quite a bit of time talking about the unethical Henry Harlow loneliness/child rearing studies on Rhesus monkeys.
The book is probably more autobiographical than a serious/scholarly foray into the topic of American loneliness, and doesn’t really posit potential solutions for bridging the gap between other people other than a general call-to-action. Interesting book that may give you some things to think about, but likely won’t change your worldview
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty
krys_kilz's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
The art in this book is gorgeous. The use of color, layout, and text style all really enhanced the book for me.
I found the topic really interesting and the author takes a very informative and researched based approach. I also liked the different vignettes that comprised the book - they did not feel scattered to me. The strongest parts of the book for me were the memoir where the author explored her own experiences with loneliness particularly around family, romantic relationships, and growing up and the social critique on America's obsession with individualism and freedom and how those are very gendered. The aspect I struggled most with was the framing of this book as an exploration of the universal experience of loneliness. The story is not universal, as nothing truly is, so that felt like a major weak point for me. I also felt the author's opinion on guns was deeply rooted in white womanhood. It is a luxury not to need to consider community self-defense.
STRONG trigger warning for animal abuse, animal cruelty, and experiments on animals in this book. She explores Harry Harlow's experiments on monkeys in depth and the details are often quite graphic.
I found the topic really interesting and the author takes a very informative and researched based approach. I also liked the different vignettes that comprised the book - they did not feel scattered to me. The strongest parts of the book for me were the memoir where the author explored her own experiences with loneliness particularly around family, romantic relationships, and growing up and the social critique on America's obsession with individualism and freedom and how those are very gendered. The aspect I struggled most with was the framing of this book as an exploration of the universal experience of loneliness. The story is not universal, as nothing truly is, so that felt like a major weak point for me. I also felt the author's opinion on guns was deeply rooted in white womanhood. It is a luxury not to need to consider community self-defense.
STRONG trigger warning for animal abuse, animal cruelty, and experiments on animals in this book. She explores Harry Harlow's experiments on monkeys in depth and the details are often quite graphic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Cancer