A review by beholdtheanimals
Bestiary, by K-Ming Chang
5.0
4.5 stars, and the only thing that keeps it from being a full 5 in my book is the very subjective reason that Bestiary is a LOT and no-holds-barred and I think maybe my brain is too scarred to be able to properly absorb the intensity? idk, long way of saying "it's me, not the book."
That said, you really gotta step into its weird river and let it lead you—do not resist the weirdness and bite of the language. It's audacious af on the sentence level, but not in a way that feels pretentious or show-offy. There's an organic quality to Bestiary's wildness—its magic is unabashed and often bodily, its spells and transformations riddled with teeth, blood, bones, piss— and it doesn't detract from the fact that there is a beautiful, poignant tale being told. I won't spoil the story at all, but it is both truly weird and moving, and it's hard to do both things simultaneously while also using a language built of wildnesses and myths and snapping, hungry jaws. I can't wait to read whatever K-Ming does next.
That said, you really gotta step into its weird river and let it lead you—do not resist the weirdness and bite of the language. It's audacious af on the sentence level, but not in a way that feels pretentious or show-offy. There's an organic quality to Bestiary's wildness—its magic is unabashed and often bodily, its spells and transformations riddled with teeth, blood, bones, piss— and it doesn't detract from the fact that there is a beautiful, poignant tale being told. I won't spoil the story at all, but it is both truly weird and moving, and it's hard to do both things simultaneously while also using a language built of wildnesses and myths and snapping, hungry jaws. I can't wait to read whatever K-Ming does next.