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charlie_cheese's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
the grief of figuring out everything too late and the humanity of the other........ great themes in this guy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, and Alcohol
Moderate: Abandonment, Classism, Gore, Police brutality, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Minor: War, Body horror, and Forced institutionalization
chocolate_pondue's review
I liked the story of the beasts even though they were all sorrowful. However the underlying story of main character and those around her was getting tedious and annoying. All the main character seemed to do was drink, have nightmares, and cry. She had her hand in the solution to some of the stories but it all just to be happening around her and not with her. Overall, I was getting tired of the repetitiveness of the stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, Genocide, Alcohol, Grief, Vomit, Alcoholism, Death, and Violence
lanid's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Gore, Vomit, Grief, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
tigger89's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is a strange — but not unsuccessful — hybrid of short story collection and novel. Each chapter stands well on its own, and the first few especially could easily be read out of order. But as the story develops, each chapter builds on what came before, and by the end the reader is expected to draw on a full knowledge of the story to comprehend the whole. In addition, each chapter is bookended by bestiary-inspired text, first introducing and then concluding the species of beast that particular chapter concerns itself with. Despite my initial confusion as to what type of book I held in my hands, I wound up enjoying the unique format, particularly the way the closing bestiary entry would tie the chapter together so matter-of-factly.
The beasts themselves were often used as a mirror to focus the reader's attention on a troubling aspect of human society or behavior. I was strongly reminded of a manga series I'd enjoyed as a teen, Pet Shop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino. It's not that the story is that similar — for one, the horror elements in Strange Beasts are much lower-key — but I feel like it carried some similar themes at its heart, in terms of commentary on society. I want to write about my favorite chapters and why I liked them, but all of my favorite parts were the bitter twists in the story, things I can't allude to without spoiling them. There is more to it than what I can say here, though. The story evolves and deepens as the chapters go on, uncovering a situation far more complex than it first appears to be.
However, for as much detail as she gave the beasts and societal structures, the day-to-day details of the shops, transit, bars, and so on are left incredibly vague. I found this to be frustrating, feeling as if gaps had been left for the reader to connect the fictional world to the real world. But as I'm not from China, I struggled to know what real-world defaults to fill those gaps with. I'm also not sure if it was an issue in translation or the way the character was originally written, but I didn't find the protagonist to be very pleasant. She was constantly playing social games with people, saying only no-no-no while expecting to be begged around to a yes. I have no patience for this in my life, and as the story went on it began to grate on me in fiction as well. But as I said, this might be something culturally that did not translate.
Speaking of cultural issues, there's one chapter that I feel needs a specific content warning. The depiction of Prime Beasts in Chapter 8 may be disturbing to some readers, due to the beasts being described as dark-skinned and possessing several traits stereotypically associated with real-world Black populations in western society. I doubt it was deliberate due to the author being Chinese and none of the other beasts being ethnicity-coded that I noticed, but it was enough to make me do a double-take. While it's not really fair to hold an author accountable for cultural readings outside of her own culture, that doesn't mean such content won't disturb an unaware reader. So, be aware if that's something that might bother you. Unfortunately, that one's probably not a skipable chapter.
The beasts themselves were often used as a mirror to focus the reader's attention on a troubling aspect of human society or behavior. I was strongly reminded of a manga series I'd enjoyed as a teen, Pet Shop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino. It's not that the story is that similar — for one, the horror elements in Strange Beasts are much lower-key — but I feel like it carried some similar themes at its heart, in terms of commentary on society. I want to write about my favorite chapters and why I liked them, but all of my favorite parts were the bitter twists in the story, things I can't allude to without spoiling them. There is more to it than what I can say here, though. The story evolves and deepens as the chapters go on, uncovering a situation far more complex than it first appears to be.
However, for as much detail as she gave the beasts and societal structures, the day-to-day details of the shops, transit, bars, and so on are left incredibly vague. I found this to be frustrating, feeling as if gaps had been left for the reader to connect the fictional world to the real world. But as I'm not from China, I struggled to know what real-world defaults to fill those gaps with. I'm also not sure if it was an issue in translation or the way the character was originally written, but I didn't find the protagonist to be very pleasant. She was constantly playing social games with people, saying only no-no-no while expecting to be begged around to a yes. I have no patience for this in my life, and as the story went on it began to grate on me in fiction as well. But as I said, this might be something culturally that did not translate.
Speaking of cultural issues, there's one chapter that I feel needs a specific content warning. The depiction of Prime Beasts in Chapter 8 may be disturbing to some readers, due to the beasts being described as dark-skinned and possessing several traits stereotypically associated with real-world Black populations in western society. I doubt it was deliberate due to the author being Chinese and none of the other beasts being ethnicity-coded that I noticed, but it was enough to make me do a double-take. While it's not really fair to hold an author accountable for cultural readings outside of her own culture, that doesn't mean such content won't disturb an unaware reader. So, be aware if that's something that might bother you. Unfortunately, that one's probably not a skipable chapter.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Car accident
flyawaytruelove's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It was a light read to me! I was not expecting the change in format; rather than being one solid story, it instead is divided up into short stories that deal with each type of beast. Looking back, I appreciate this format as it helps highlight each type specifically whereas in a typical format, it might be hard to include everyone.
My favorite type of beast was the Joyous Beasts. I personally thought their lifecycle was the most unique (and maybe a bit horrifying) out of all of them. Heartsick Beasts are a close second.
I didn't feel like the narrator developed too drastically as the book. There were some points where her behavior felt a bit predictable, but she developed! Maybe as not as I hoped.
Overall, I think it's a good read! It's short and sweet so no harm in trying it.
My favorite type of beast was the Joyous Beasts. I personally thought their lifecycle was the most unique (and maybe a bit horrifying) out of all of them. Heartsick Beasts are a close second.
I didn't feel like the narrator developed too drastically as the book. There were some points where her behavior felt a bit predictable, but she developed! Maybe as not as I hoped.
Overall, I think it's a good read! It's short and sweet so no harm in trying it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Body horror
Moderate: Alcohol and Abandonment
Minor: War and Vomit
theatrix's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a quick and engrossing and thought-provoking read, but also challenging, both due to the wide range of disturbing themes (there are many, but most are touched on pretty briefly), and due to the style, which doesn't baby you with explanations and trusts you to put pieces together yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Body horror, Death, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Abandonment, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Stalking, Chronic illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Blood, Pregnancy, Torture, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Slavery, Trafficking, and Vomit
feebles640's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Vomit, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Grief, and Body horror
Minor: Forced institutionalization
fiveredhens's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
there were a lot of places where i couldn't follow what was going on at all and the writing was a bit... stilted i guess? i think some nuance and flow were lost in translation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Alcohol, and Body horror
Moderate: Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, and Vomit
Minor: Pedophilia and Rape
clarabooksit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Child death, Death, Body horror, Alcohol, Colonisation, Grief, Trafficking, Suicide, Self harm, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Stalking, Cannibalism, Animal death, Genocide, and Injury/Injury detail
miak2's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This vast city, the beasts that come and go, all of this, is a secret. No one knows why they come or why they go, why they meet or why they leave. These are all enormous, distant mysteries. p. 231
I...don't know how to feel about this book? Similar to Kafka on the Shore, parts of it felt really profound and others were just...there. At the end, it made for a somewhat dissatisfying reading experience, solely because I wanted a lot more than what it gave me.
The good: I really enjoyed the parts that focused on the beasts, which is good since that's the whole point of the book. Each chapter focused on a single type of beast. They started with a description of the beast, moved to the narrator's current story, then showed how her tale was interwoven with the titular beast. I really liked this narrative format, especially with how the end of each chapter began by recounting the same factoids about the beast as in the beginning of the chapter, but moved on to provide some deeper insight on their experiences or role in society. Super neat.
The 'meh': Everything else? I didn't get very engrossed with the main character's story, in part due to Ge's choppy writing style which I personally didn't love. The dialogue felt incredibly unnatural at times, and the characters were confusing. The underlying plot, too, was also really confusing. I'm still not 100% sure what role all these characters played, and as a result don't think many of them added all that much to the overall plot.
I also just wished that the author had narrowed her scope just a bit. It tried to take on a LOT within 230 pages, to varying degrees of success. As a result, I'm not quite sure what moral I'm meant to be walking away with - although this is due in part to all the aspects named above. At the end of the day, I just wanted more from this book, which had such a neat premise but only scratched the surface. It'd make for a killer TV miniseries, though, if the character stuff could be sorted out.
Also, as warning, the book is rather callous with its mention of suicide and, to a lesser extent, rape. They are meant to be presented similar to how a textbook would, so I don't think the author was negligently tactless, but it could definitely be triggering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Alcohol
Moderate: Death and Toxic relationship