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A review by millietakichen
Bestiary by K-Ming Chang
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
3.25
Three concepts to describe this book, in this order: Poop(ing), multi-directional familial piety, crafty.
Writing was visceral in a good way (really creative detail) and a bad way (sometimes too creative that it didn't make sense to me). It was also pretty vulgar, which I don't mind, but the words "shit," "piss," or related bodily functions were on almost every single one of the 254 pages, to the point where it was kind of distracting. If there's a deeper meaning behind the shit (literally) then I definitely need someone to explain it to me. Timeline and setting were somewhat hard to keep track of as well.
I appreciated the way Mother and Daughter's relationship was revealed and developed throughout the book: The undercurrent of love and filial piety was flawed but palpable, and as a child of a Taiwanese immigrant myself, I see some of my own family dynamics reflected in the novel.
TLDR: The imaginative writing was cool but the experience was similar to when I read Helen Oyeyemi — I see the vision and want to understand it but sometimes it's too abstract for me to grasp.
Writing was visceral in a good way (really creative detail) and a bad way (sometimes too creative that it didn't make sense to me). It was also pretty vulgar, which I don't mind, but the words "shit," "piss," or related bodily functions were on almost every single one of the 254 pages, to the point where it was kind of distracting. If there's a deeper meaning behind the shit (literally) then I definitely need someone to explain it to me. Timeline and setting were somewhat hard to keep track of as well.
I appreciated the way Mother and Daughter's relationship was revealed and developed throughout the book: The undercurrent of love and filial piety was flawed but palpable, and as a child of a Taiwanese immigrant myself, I see some of my own family dynamics reflected in the novel.
TLDR: The imaginative writing was cool but the experience was similar to when I read Helen Oyeyemi — I see the vision and want to understand it but sometimes it's too abstract for me to grasp.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Excrement