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A review by bibliophiliadk
The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot
3.0
AMAZING, HOW SO MUCH CAN BE CONVEYED WITH SO FEW WORDS
Full confession first - I actually had no idea this would be a verse novel when I started it. I have never read a novel written in verse before, so it took a little while to get into it. But once I did, I actually found myself enjoying the lyrical writing. I was fascinated by the topic of grief and coping with loss but, sadly, the repetitive plot dragged the book down in my opinion. Still worth the read though!
THE THINGS I LIKED
Topic: Many books handle the topic 'grief'. But few books handle it in such a multilayered way as this one. The MC Lottie, who is around 11-12 years old at the start of this book, has lost her mother and sister. To cope with this loss, Lottie becomes fascinated by the reanimation of dead animals through taxidermy. But her grief is not the only one in this book - there is also the quiet grief of her father, the memory-ladden grief of her grandmother and the grief-turned-fierce-protection of her aunt Hilda. Beautifully handled.
Verse: Like I said, verse novels is not something I have a whole lot of experience with, but I was truly impressed by how much meaning could be conveyed with so few words. Now, I, of course, can't say if this is the case with all verse novels, but in any case, it was impressive.
Writing: Death, taxidermy and grief are quite morbid topics, but the author here managed to make them almost beautiful with her poetic and lyrical writing. However, if you are squeamish about graphic descriptions of dead animals in various stages of decay, I would stay clear of this book if I were you. Fair warning.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Repetition: Sadly, this book seemed to repeat itself; Lottie finds a dead animal and brings it home. Aunt Hilda destroys it. And repeat. Over and over. The inability of the story to renew itself was a blow for me and made it a little boring. On the plus side though, it is short, so even with the repetitiveness it is quickly finished.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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Full confession first - I actually had no idea this would be a verse novel when I started it. I have never read a novel written in verse before, so it took a little while to get into it. But once I did, I actually found myself enjoying the lyrical writing. I was fascinated by the topic of grief and coping with loss but, sadly, the repetitive plot dragged the book down in my opinion. Still worth the read though!
"Her name was always spoken
in a whisper -
Adrianna, Adrianna.
Long vowels,
rolling in waves
of pain through air."
THE THINGS I LIKED
Topic: Many books handle the topic 'grief'. But few books handle it in such a multilayered way as this one. The MC Lottie, who is around 11-12 years old at the start of this book, has lost her mother and sister. To cope with this loss, Lottie becomes fascinated by the reanimation of dead animals through taxidermy. But her grief is not the only one in this book - there is also the quiet grief of her father, the memory-ladden grief of her grandmother and the grief-turned-fierce-protection of her aunt Hilda. Beautifully handled.
Verse: Like I said, verse novels is not something I have a whole lot of experience with, but I was truly impressed by how much meaning could be conveyed with so few words. Now, I, of course, can't say if this is the case with all verse novels, but in any case, it was impressive.
Writing: Death, taxidermy and grief are quite morbid topics, but the author here managed to make them almost beautiful with her poetic and lyrical writing. However, if you are squeamish about graphic descriptions of dead animals in various stages of decay, I would stay clear of this book if I were you. Fair warning.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Repetition: Sadly, this book seemed to repeat itself; Lottie finds a dead animal and brings it home. Aunt Hilda destroys it. And repeat. Over and over. The inability of the story to renew itself was a blow for me and made it a little boring. On the plus side though, it is short, so even with the repetitiveness it is quickly finished.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
FOLLOW MY BLOG FOR MORE BOOK GOODNESS