Scan barcode
mountainreader's review
adventurous
funny
fast-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
5.0
spikespiegel's review
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kassiani's review against another edition
3.75
Biographies / oraisons funèbres sur les poulets tués et mangés. A force de considérer les poulets comme des êtres uniques, avec des comportements et personnalités distinctes, et de les exécuter, le personnage questionne la valeur de la vie, et du caractère du meurtre.
barefootmegz's review
4.0
I’ve read books about cats, dogs, goats, horses. I’ve read books about wildlife, and zoos. What I have never read about, is chickens. (I’ve also never had any chickens as pets, because one of my good friends is ornithophobic, and swears she won’t visit if we have birds.)
Lucie Rico’s Paule is a terrifyingly mundane heroine. How refreshing to read a character who is not the next best thing in their career, not involved in a steaming love affair, and not traveling wildly around the world. Add to that a complexity that seems so unrealistic that one simply couldn’t make it up, and you’ve got yourself a character at once relatable and impossible to understand.
Contradictory? That’s Paule. Guys, a vegetarian that kills chickens with a billhook - AFTER she’s named them and loved them? Welp, I can’t. (Can someone get the girl some therapy to deal with her mother-issues?)
The astute reader will identify in Fowl Eulogies themes on consumerism, identity, and modern life; but the novel itself need not be a mentally taxing experience - rather it is one of wry humour, absurdism, and a somewhat stomach-churning violence. (Actually, sensitive readers might find the imagery of the chickens’ demise a bit too much. Paule is cruel, and more than a little messed up. I don’t hate her, but I wouldn’t want to know her.)
Nobody but the chickens in Fowl Eulogies is likeable, and yet the novel is thoughtful in both its empathy and sardonicism.
A tip of the hat should go to the translator, who held in her hands the responsibility to keep the essence of the novel, and seems to have done exceedingly well.
I received an eARC of this novel via Netgalley and World Editions in exchange for an honest review.
Lucie Rico’s Paule is a terrifyingly mundane heroine. How refreshing to read a character who is not the next best thing in their career, not involved in a steaming love affair, and not traveling wildly around the world. Add to that a complexity that seems so unrealistic that one simply couldn’t make it up, and you’ve got yourself a character at once relatable and impossible to understand.
Contradictory? That’s Paule. Guys, a vegetarian that kills chickens with a billhook - AFTER she’s named them and loved them? Welp, I can’t. (Can someone get the girl some therapy to deal with her mother-issues?)
The astute reader will identify in Fowl Eulogies themes on consumerism, identity, and modern life; but the novel itself need not be a mentally taxing experience - rather it is one of wry humour, absurdism, and a somewhat stomach-churning violence. (Actually, sensitive readers might find the imagery of the chickens’ demise a bit too much. Paule is cruel, and more than a little messed up. I don’t hate her, but I wouldn’t want to know her.)
Nobody but the chickens in Fowl Eulogies is likeable, and yet the novel is thoughtful in both its empathy and sardonicism.
A tip of the hat should go to the translator, who held in her hands the responsibility to keep the essence of the novel, and seems to have done exceedingly well.
I received an eARC of this novel via Netgalley and World Editions in exchange for an honest review.
anniewright15's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lindsaygray21's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
owe_1405's review
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
philibin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really liked this story, but I can't properly explain what it was about. Yes, the book description is accurate, but there is so much more in this book. The love, the despair, the overwhelming emotions in such few pages.
juliancmajor's review
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5