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fiekesfiction's reviews
321 reviews
Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
Awakenings by Claudie Arseneault
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
CW: canibalism, racism, dehumanization, violence, rape, animal cruelty/ death, amputation, blood and gore, branding, child death, probably more.
"... she had her kids because it's one of the things you're supposed to do in life, like throwing a party on your fifteenth birthday, getting married, renovating your home, and eating meat." (p.94)
This book is not particularly enjoyable, nor am I sure that it really brought me anything useful. I think it was somewhat interesting, but I would be hesitant to recommend it to others. Perhaps the horror of it is useful in commenting upon the meat industry, but as a vegetarian much of the ways slaughterhouses operate was not necessarily news to me. (If you are interested in this topic I would instead recommend Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Four.) However, I did read this entire book. Writing an essay about it was very interesting. I am glad I got to read it for that reason, but I am not sure if I would have finished reading this book without having that goal in mind.
It is a hard balance to strike because I know there are many topics that I reflected upon because of this book and I think it provides a very interesting discussion, but at the same time I think these topics interest me outside of the book itself. I would not discourage anyone who is interested in reading this, but it is a difficult book for me to rate.
To read this book you have to first accept the world in which it takes place as an 'interesting' thought experiment that is not necessarily 'realistic' or possible. It takes place in a world where all animals are poisonous to humans and have been 'exterminated'. Brushing aside the possibility of murdering all/ most animals without destroying the entire earth, what has followed is an insistence on eating humans rather than becoming vegan.
All of this is accepted as background in the book, to the more interesting fact of exploring a world where this has taken place and its consequences, and what it explores about our real experiences.
By humanizing the subjects of slaughter this book makes the reader uncomfortable with the reality of the meat industry. Most of it is rooted in things that already happen to animals and there are often remarks about this.
It alludes to questions about what kinds of groups are being dehumanized and treated as animals, but fails to really acknowledge the racist implications of this. How this is something that is connected to history and it does not make explicit what groups these are, although it is not hard to guess what would be likely. There are some moments where this connection is slightly referenced, like the first case of cannibalism being the eating of bolivian immigrants, but it is not explored as much as it potentially could be or as I would expect. (There is also some weird treatment of a Japanese character in this book.)
There are statements of how the meat industry functions and how the 'best meat' is for export. "export-quality meat, that these head are First Generation Pure. It's the most expensive meat on the market..."(p.58)This is reflective of how the meat industry in Argentina works. It also is an exaggeration of something that is already happening, where people in one part of the world are exploited for the benefit of other parts of the world. In this dystopian world, people are willing to let others die and willing to even systematically process them for food, not for survival but for their own pleasure and comfort. As the world has completely changed and is being ravaged by climate change, they insist on trying to maintain the lives they are used to, at the expense of others.
This also reminded me of how fighting climate change is not necessarily about either "saving the earth" or completely "losing" it, but rather about how much change we find "acceptable" before something has to be done about it, and how the countries that suffer from these changes are not necessarily the ones causing it.
This book also highlights the systemic nature of the issues within it. The role the government and law have in the industry.
And there is an interesting focus on language. Firstly, the language that is used around the meat industry, to avoid calling things as they are. Vague words or “euphemisms that nullified all horror” (p.35) are specifically used to avoid referring to what is actually happening.
"He uses technical words to refer to what is a human but will never be a person, to what is always a product (…) No one can call them humans because that would mean giving them an identity"(p.8). Stylistically this is made clear through the clinical writing style of the novel that feels detached from the extremely violent horror of its contents. The character himself comments upon it, saying “They’re words he feels mix with others that are incomprehensible, the mechanical words spoken by an artificial voice…”(p.19). The reader is constantly made aware of the political significance of the language that is used. “Merchandise, another word that obscures the world.”(p.21) and “The specialists studied medicine, he thinks, but when their job is to examine the lots at breeding centers, no one calls them doctors.”(p.22) In these instances, the main character is aware of the language use and the dark truth it tries to conceal. Of course, this is not dissimilar to how we talk about the meat industry in general.
But there is another focus on language in this book when it comes to who does and does not have a voice. Early on it is made clear that the 'head' that are being bred for slaughter do not have vocal chords. Other instances of not having a voice include, a younger version of the main character who "hadn't said a thing since his mother died."(p.44), his father "he felt his father didn't have any more words, that even the ones he said weren't really there" (p.44) and "his father barely speaks now. He emits sounds."(p.49) Showing people who are in pain and people who are vulnerable, as unable to speak.
At the same time, there is a power ascribed to the people who do get to use and define language. When he fell in love with Cecilia, the main character describes it as "But then she began to talk and he paid attention. That voice. (...) her voice was a way out of the world"(p.47). He also describes his sisters' children, the twins, as having their own language and therefore existing in their own world. "They have a secret language, one it's unlikely even his sister can decipher. The words that only the two of them understand turn others into foreigners, strangers, make them illiterate."(p.99) He also describes the importance of language in relation to their names "Parents who name their children after themselves are stripping them of an identity, reminding them who they belong to."(p.99)
In so many ways this book articulates the importance of the language we use, and who gets to use it. It shows that people using language and making decisions about what language to use, specifically what to name things, also dictate a specific attitude towards the thing that they are naming.
Many of these things have been very interesting to think about and I was very excited to expand upon these ideas in an essay that I will actually get graded on. However, I would not recommend the experience of reading this.
"... she had her kids because it's one of the things you're supposed to do in life, like throwing a party on your fifteenth birthday, getting married, renovating your home, and eating meat." (p.94)
This book is not particularly enjoyable, nor am I sure that it really brought me anything useful. I think it was somewhat interesting, but I would be hesitant to recommend it to others. Perhaps the horror of it is useful in commenting upon the meat industry, but as a vegetarian much of the ways slaughterhouses operate was not necessarily news to me. (If you are interested in this topic I would instead recommend Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Four.) However, I did read this entire book. Writing an essay about it was very interesting. I am glad I got to read it for that reason, but I am not sure if I would have finished reading this book without having that goal in mind.
It is a hard balance to strike because I know there are many topics that I reflected upon because of this book and I think it provides a very interesting discussion, but at the same time I think these topics interest me outside of the book itself. I would not discourage anyone who is interested in reading this, but it is a difficult book for me to rate.
To read this book you have to first accept the world in which it takes place as an 'interesting' thought experiment that is not necessarily 'realistic' or possible. It takes place in a world where all animals are poisonous to humans and have been 'exterminated'. Brushing aside the possibility of murdering all/ most animals without destroying the entire earth, what has followed is an insistence on eating humans rather than becoming vegan.
All of this is accepted as background in the book, to the more interesting fact of exploring a world where this has taken place and its consequences, and what it explores about our real experiences.
By humanizing the subjects of slaughter this book makes the reader uncomfortable with the reality of the meat industry. Most of it is rooted in things that already happen to animals and there are often remarks about this.
It alludes to questions about what kinds of groups are being dehumanized and treated as animals, but fails to really acknowledge the racist implications of this. How this is something that is connected to history and it does not make explicit what groups these are, although it is not hard to guess what would be likely. There are some moments where this connection is slightly referenced, like the first case of cannibalism being the eating of bolivian immigrants, but it is not explored as much as it potentially could be or as I would expect. (There is also some weird treatment of a Japanese character in this book.)
There are statements of how the meat industry functions and how the 'best meat' is for export. "export-quality meat, that these head are First Generation Pure. It's the most expensive meat on the market..."(p.58)This is reflective of how the meat industry in Argentina works. It also is an exaggeration of something that is already happening, where people in one part of the world are exploited for the benefit of other parts of the world. In this dystopian world, people are willing to let others die and willing to even systematically process them for food, not for survival but for their own pleasure and comfort. As the world has completely changed and is being ravaged by climate change, they insist on trying to maintain the lives they are used to, at the expense of others.
This also reminded me of how fighting climate change is not necessarily about either "saving the earth" or completely "losing" it, but rather about how much change we find "acceptable" before something has to be done about it, and how the countries that suffer from these changes are not necessarily the ones causing it.
This book also highlights the systemic nature of the issues within it. The role the government and law have in the industry.
And there is an interesting focus on language. Firstly, the language that is used around the meat industry, to avoid calling things as they are. Vague words or “euphemisms that nullified all horror” (p.35) are specifically used to avoid referring to what is actually happening.
"He uses technical words to refer to what is a human but will never be a person, to what is always a product (…) No one can call them humans because that would mean giving them an identity"(p.8). Stylistically this is made clear through the clinical writing style of the novel that feels detached from the extremely violent horror of its contents. The character himself comments upon it, saying “They’re words he feels mix with others that are incomprehensible, the mechanical words spoken by an artificial voice…”(p.19). The reader is constantly made aware of the political significance of the language that is used. “Merchandise, another word that obscures the world.”(p.21) and “The specialists studied medicine, he thinks, but when their job is to examine the lots at breeding centers, no one calls them doctors.”(p.22) In these instances, the main character is aware of the language use and the dark truth it tries to conceal. Of course, this is not dissimilar to how we talk about the meat industry in general.
But there is another focus on language in this book when it comes to who does and does not have a voice. Early on it is made clear that the 'head' that are being bred for slaughter do not have vocal chords. Other instances of not having a voice include, a younger version of the main character who "hadn't said a thing since his mother died."(p.44), his father "he felt his father didn't have any more words, that even the ones he said weren't really there" (p.44) and "his father barely speaks now. He emits sounds."(p.49) Showing people who are in pain and people who are vulnerable, as unable to speak.
At the same time, there is a power ascribed to the people who do get to use and define language. When he fell in love with Cecilia, the main character describes it as "But then she began to talk and he paid attention. That voice. (...) her voice was a way out of the world"(p.47). He also describes his sisters' children, the twins, as having their own language and therefore existing in their own world. "They have a secret language, one it's unlikely even his sister can decipher. The words that only the two of them understand turn others into foreigners, strangers, make them illiterate."(p.99) He also describes the importance of language in relation to their names "Parents who name their children after themselves are stripping them of an identity, reminding them who they belong to."(p.99)
In so many ways this book articulates the importance of the language we use, and who gets to use it. It shows that people using language and making decisions about what language to use, specifically what to name things, also dictate a specific attitude towards the thing that they are naming.
Many of these things have been very interesting to think about and I was very excited to expand upon these ideas in an essay that I will actually get graded on. However, I would not recommend the experience of reading this.
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rainbows, Unicorns, and Triangles: Queer Symbols Throughout History by Jessica Kingsley Publishers
hopeful
informative
inspiring
“Rainbows, Unicorns, and triangles” is a good story for young children that introduces them to various queer symbols throughout history.
It includes many different identities throughout many different times and gives a short but clear description about what they mean, which is further explained and enhanced by colourful illustrations. I do not work with kids so would find it challenging to comment upon how understandable this book would be to its target audience, I can imagine that some parts would need to be explained a bit further by the person reading it to them, but I think this serves as a good conversation starter.
It did feel more like a list of different things than a connected story, but I think this is understandable and an inevitable part of the formatting of this book, especially as it tries to include different identities. I appreciate the range of identities that are included in this book, although I have seen some comments about the lack of mentioning Disabilities, which I think would be quite helpful and not that difficult to include for example the clear communication of lanyards or symbols like the forget-me-not flower. It is understandable that creating a comprehensive list of every symbol is not possible, but deciding which things (not) to include then becomes a difficult and possibly problematic task.
Overall I think this is a great book to exist and a very nice introduction to some of the symbols and ways of communication of queer identities throughout history.
It includes many different identities throughout many different times and gives a short but clear description about what they mean, which is further explained and enhanced by colourful illustrations. I do not work with kids so would find it challenging to comment upon how understandable this book would be to its target audience, I can imagine that some parts would need to be explained a bit further by the person reading it to them, but I think this serves as a good conversation starter.
It did feel more like a list of different things than a connected story, but I think this is understandable and an inevitable part of the formatting of this book, especially as it tries to include different identities. I appreciate the range of identities that are included in this book, although I have seen some comments about the lack of mentioning Disabilities, which I think would be quite helpful and not that difficult to include for example the clear communication of lanyards or symbols like the forget-me-not flower. It is understandable that creating a comprehensive list of every symbol is not possible, but deciding which things (not) to include then becomes a difficult and possibly problematic task.
Overall I think this is a great book to exist and a very nice introduction to some of the symbols and ways of communication of queer identities throughout history.
Lang leve de keizer by Britt Zwijnenberg
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, War, Death, Violence, Child abuse, and Slavery
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Domestic abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Vomit