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A review by paragraphsandpages
The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot
Did not finish book.
I feel bad for another dnf, but these books just haven't been clicking with me lately.
I read the first 45% of this book fairly quickly, it flew by and I could just keep going and going. However, after I had stopped, I wasn't able to make myself pick it back up again. I realized I just didn't have a connection with the characters nor was intrigued by the story and family history that this book seemed to be building to, and with the book needing to be nearing more action/reveals/tension, I didn't think I was going to end up being invested when everything went down.
It's hard to pinpoint where this lack of interest came from. I think some of it definitely came from the general subject matter of the story (or the hobby through which the inner story of our MC is dealt with). While I knew this book would be about taxidermy, dead animals, etc., I guess I hadn't expected the detail? I guess I had assumed it would be backgrounding the larger family story rather than the other way around, and in reality I just don't enjoy reading about dead animal collecting, studying, and attempts at taxidermy of these dead animals. It just made me really uncomfortable at points, and I found myself skimming longer passages that involved these types of scenes. And unfortunately... this was most of the book. At least I know this for next time though, avoid books with a focus on dead animals?
I also wasn't fully enraptured by the verse. I've loved a lot of novels written in verse (most from Ellen Hopkins), but I just didn't mesh well with this particular take. I feel like verse is a little more hit or miss with me than prose, just as poetry is as well, and I honestly didn't feel like this novel benefited much from the verse (from what I read of it, of course). It seemed to read more as just broken up sentences than an actual style, and it just wasn't lyrical for me. I do think others will enjoy it though!
All in all, this book just wasn't for me, but I don't feel like I can judge it 'objectively', as much as anyone ever judges a book objectively. It just had too many things that weren't my taste, but I do feel like this book will find a home on some readers' shelves.
I read the first 45% of this book fairly quickly, it flew by and I could just keep going and going. However, after I had stopped, I wasn't able to make myself pick it back up again. I realized I just didn't have a connection with the characters nor was intrigued by the story and family history that this book seemed to be building to, and with the book needing to be nearing more action/reveals/tension, I didn't think I was going to end up being invested when everything went down.
It's hard to pinpoint where this lack of interest came from. I think some of it definitely came from the general subject matter of the story (or the hobby through which the inner story of our MC is dealt with). While I knew this book would be about taxidermy, dead animals, etc., I guess I hadn't expected the detail? I guess I had assumed it would be backgrounding the larger family story rather than the other way around, and in reality I just don't enjoy reading about dead animal collecting, studying, and attempts at taxidermy of these dead animals. It just made me really uncomfortable at points, and I found myself skimming longer passages that involved these types of scenes. And unfortunately... this was most of the book. At least I know this for next time though, avoid books with a focus on dead animals?
I also wasn't fully enraptured by the verse. I've loved a lot of novels written in verse (most from Ellen Hopkins), but I just didn't mesh well with this particular take. I feel like verse is a little more hit or miss with me than prose, just as poetry is as well, and I honestly didn't feel like this novel benefited much from the verse (from what I read of it, of course). It seemed to read more as just broken up sentences than an actual style, and it just wasn't lyrical for me. I do think others will enjoy it though!
All in all, this book just wasn't for me, but I don't feel like I can judge it 'objectively', as much as anyone ever judges a book objectively. It just had too many things that weren't my taste, but I do feel like this book will find a home on some readers' shelves.