Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller

11 reviews

seawarrior's review

5.0

The Memory of Animals is a novel both terrifying and serene. It is gripping as a character study and a horror story of apocalyptic proportions, one with a central argument that flows throughout the novel before its answer drowns with despair: is it greater to live in captivity, or to die in unlimited freedom? The novel is likely an indirect response to the pandemic we have all lived through, and its central themes are heightened by our knowledge of the doom promised by denial of the seriousness of disease, resistance to quarantine, vaccine hesitancy, and delayed government response. Yet these themes are never too overt, which allows us to get lost inside Neffy's memories, especially the fierce love and life-altering tragedy she endured in an idyllic place. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Confinement

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Pregnancy

cc_shelflove's review against another edition

challenging reflective medium-paced

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

1.5

I hate when you finish a book and say, “Well that’s x amount of hours of my life that I won’t get back.” 😅 I really thought this would be interesting based on the first chapter. Neffy arrived to a medical laboratory, Vaccine Bio-Pharm, to partake in an experimental vaccine trial during a global pandemic. The rest of the book really went off the rails, though. Instead of just focusing on the present timeline and the strangers holed up in the lab, the author decided to include Neffy’s random ass letters addressed to an octopus. That’s not all! Neffy also used a device to “Revisit” her memories, and I unfortunately had to read through those, too. The book was two storylines too many, as Neffy’s letters and memories did not contribute to the overall plot at all. And the ending? So terrible it’s not even funny—entirely abrupt and rushed. I would like to know who reviewed this woman’s outline and thought it was cohesive? 😅

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Confinement, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Blood and Car accident

cryfest's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Medical content

rorikae's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

'The Memory of Animals' by Claire Fuller is a novel about a woman trying to survive during a pandemic while using her past memories as a buffer.
As a pandemic rages throughout the world, Neffy arrives at an undisclosed hospital in central London to undergo a vaccine trial.  When the virus mutates while Neffy is sick and recovering from receiving the vaccine, she wakes up to a dystopia where she and a few of the other trial volunteers are the only ones left in the building. The world outside is in turmoil and their group has decided to stay indoors so as not to risk catching the virus. As the only person who received the vaccine, Neffy is the only one who has the potential to go outside to get more food but she is stuck in her past and scared of the world outside. 
Claire Fuller always does an exceptional job at creating lived in characters. It's one of the reasons I come back to her books again and again. This works particularly well in an isolated setting where there are only so many characters interacting with one another. This book was a little hard to read given the pandemic aspects but definitely worth it. I really appreciated the speculative element in the story that allows Neffy to travel back through her memories. This, plus the mysterious H that Neffy is writing letters to throughout the story, added a sense of the wider world that we don't get from the isolated setting. Another exceptional character study. Claire Fuller does not disappoint. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual content and Sexual violence

darkndfoxes's review

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Animal cruelty

kirstym25's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, and Death

jennikreads's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Addiction, Terminal illness, and Sexual violence

ruthjenkins's review

dark hopeful reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Violence

lianne_rooney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Death, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

lindsaylhunter's review against another edition

dark sad slow-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

2.5

A bit bland. I understand that stories that take place in generally one setting are meant to portray isolation and claustrophia but this one just felt boring.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death