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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
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.
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
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
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