apocalypsefiction

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

pick

I really loved this. It was an interesting look at memory and what we can see more clearly with the benefit of hindsight. It was also about personal responsibilities and perceptions of them. I loved the octopus content because they are facinating. There are a lot of flashbacks as the story is told. The ending answered some of the questions about what happened next but not all of them. Interestingly the author started this before the 2020 pandemic.

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quietlycuriouskate

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

so-so

Claire Fuller is a hit-and-miss author for me.
It's not the book's fault I wasn't really in the mood for a pandemic story. However, it felt like three books cobbled together: a memoir of Neffy's earlier life, mostly in Greece; Station Eleven; and one of the recent crop of octopus books.
It had interesting things to say about grief, guilt and a desire to escape to the past rather than face present horrors. I'm not sure it succeeded in saying them.

TrishB This was a miss for me too! 1mo

Caroline2 That‘s a shame. I liked this one but yeah, you have to be in the mood for a pandemic novel. (I wouldn‘t want to read it now!) but I really liked the idea of visiting old memories. 1mo

38 likes2 comments

bookishbitch

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

Our family is doing more experience gifts and less "stuff" this year for Christmas. So I told my son I would like to do a buddy read with him. He's not a non-reader, but he doesn't read as regularly as me.(He does read a book to his daughter every night though which I love.) So we went to the bookstore together, part of the gift, and picked one out. He found this one. I'll be sure to report back once we are finished. It looks interesting.

Deblovestoread What a lovely idea! 4mo

Dilara How lovely! 💝 4mo

DogMomIrene Love this idea for the book buddy experience! 4mo

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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

#Memories
#DecemberDreams
#TBR

❤️📚❤️

Eggs

Eggs Sounds unique! 1y

55 likes1 comment

Hilary427

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

pick

This was a low pick for me…it‘s odd, different. Not in a bad way necessarily, just different. Not your typical end of the world story! Hard to explain - so just read it and decide for yourself 😂
⭐️: 3.75/5

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mom_of_4

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

Hopeing this book is good. Seen it a-lot on here n had mixed reviews.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Let me know how it is! 2y

36 likes1 comment

Soubhiville

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

Open to those who signed up for #book2book with @AllDebooks

Comment below if you‘d like to take this one home. If multiple folks are interested I‘ll draw a random number. I‘m in the US.

@CSeydel @Bookish_Gal @LiteraryinLawrence @Chrissyreadit @Clwojick @Cuilin @bcncookbookclub @Tineke @julieclair @Catsandbooks @TheAromaofBooks @BookwormAHN @Lizpixie @KateReadsYA @TheBookHippie @dabbe

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DebinHawaii

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

pick

#RushAThon #20in4

Read for #CampLitsy23 🏕️I liked this one—the premise was intriguing & although there were a few too many threads of plot that didn‘t seem to come together (& the author didn‘t stick the landing quite as I hoped), I‘m a fan of apocalyptic/dystopian/pandemic books & I wanted to find out what happened, so it kept me turning pages. This is my first book by this author (although Swimming Lessons is stuck in my #BOTM TBR stack) ⬇️

Megabooks, DieAReader, Andrew65, squirrelbrain, BarbaraBB, GHABI4ROSES

DebinHawaii …& I try another. Thank you again for hosting this round @squirrelbrain & also to @Megabooks & @BarbaraBB for hosting & putting together #CampLitsy23 🏕️📚💚 I really enjoyed it! (edited) 2y

Megabooks You‘re welcome! So glad you joined us at camp this summer! I‘m glad you liked the book, too. 😁🏕️ 2y

BarbaraBB Very happy you joined and added so much to our discussions 💖 2y

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DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 2y

squirrelbrain I‘m glad you (kind of!) liked it in the end. Thanks for joining us at camp and adding so much to our discussions. 2y

Andrew65 Going well 👏👏👏 2y

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squirrelbrain

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

#camplitsy23

A few Littens bailed on this book 😬 but you can still join in with this question, even if you didn‘t get to the end! It‘s your opportunity to say what you thought of the book. There were quite a few plot holes identified last week; do you feel that these were resolved satisfactorily? What about the character development and the outside world; did we learn any more?

Join us tomorrow to vote for your favourite of this month‘s books!

Megabooks, BarbaraBB

squirrelbrain @Debinhawaii @Deblovestoread @DGRachel @eraderneely @ErikasMindfulShelf @GatheringBooks @Gissy @hes7 @Hooked_on_Books @ImperfectCJ @IndoorDame @JamieArc @JenniferP @JenReadsAlot @Jess @jhod 2y

squirrelbrain @jlhammar @JulesG @julieclair @Kangaj1 @Addison_Reads @AmyG @batsy @Bkclubcare @Bklover @Kitta @Julsmarshall @BookBosomed1 @BookNAround @Books_et_al @Bookwormjillk @Caroline2 @CarolynM @Catlass007 @CatMS @Cbee 2y

squirrelbrain @TrishB @YourFavouriteMixTape @ChaoticMissAdventures @Chelsea.Poole @Christine @Cinfhen @Cseydel @Cuilin @Dabbe @Kempfme @Kimberlone @Kristy_K @LaraReads @Larkken @Laughterhp @Leniverse @willaful @KarenUK @Monalyisha 2y

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squirrelbrain @LeticiaToraci @Lizpixie @Magpiegem @Merelybookish @Meshell1313 @MicheleinPhilly @MittenGirlPeach @Oryx @Peaknit @quietjenn @RaeLovesToRead @Read4life @youneverarrived
@RebelReader @rockpools 2y

squirrelbrain @Ruthiella @SamAnne @Sapphire @sarahbarnes @sblbooks @Soubhiville @Suet624 @Susanita @Tea_and_Starstuff @TEArificbooks @TheAromaofBooks @TheBookHippie @TheKidUpstairs @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @E.Bolhafner @sbolhafner @JoyBlue 2y

julesG Neffy and the child going out to try meeting the neighbours should have been the end, in my opinion. What that last bit is telling us is that the child survived and made memories she wants to revisit. But that reminded me of the stupid memory thingy. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 2y

Leniverse I hated the ending. Not just the Nina ending, but the whole end part. And especially the baby part. I haven't been that annoyed with a book baby since the Hunger Games, and in The Memory of Animals getting purposefully pregnant and having a baby at that point in time just seems like a spectacularly bad idea. 2y

BarbaraBB I agree @julesG that should have been the ending. Now I am not sure if Fuller wanted to end it with a hopeful ending? Seems weird, knowing her child would be the last child on earth - as far as we know. 2y

julesG @Leniverse I wanted to write that I would have been fine with the whole thing ending with Neffy driving into the sunset. Open end. Instead we get the baby. 🤦🏻‍♀️ 2y

merelybookish I did not hate the book but the ending was terrible! It felt cheap. Like here's hope for humanity's survival without getting into the nitty-gritty of survival. So don't worry folks! It'll be okay. 2y

julesG My words were stuck in my brain earlier, a bit like an octopus trying to escape its tank. 🐙 2y

Megabooks @Leniverse I loved the hunger games baby when I read that, but I felt way more invested in Peeta and Katniss‘s stories than Neffy‘s. It just felt lazy here. Agree @merelybookish (edited) 2y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB was she the last child on earth? It was weird leaving that open ended. I truly hated this ending!! 😡 2y

GatheringBooks I think I just finished the book out of respect for #CampLitsy23 plus I am simply a completist, but this must be the worst book I‘ve read of all times. Hated everything, so I wasn‘t too surprised that the ending was like huh? Baby? Huh? Turkey baster? Umm, ok. 2y

Kitta I think it either should have ended with them getting to the house and setting up a community or with them finding other survivors and deciding whether to trust them. I didn‘t like the baby ending and making it end with her baby doing a revisit seems particularly weird. It made me feel like the entire book was a memory from someone who wasn‘t there. It made no sense. 2y

CBee The ending was a bit meh. I would‘ve liked Neffy finding other survivors and maybe having that fleshed out a bit more. I‘m not sure I would‘ve been so keen to have a baby in the midst of such a deadly pandemic either….. a bit irresponsible. 2y

Bookwormjillk Having them all die and the baby was all just a big huh to me. What was that? I thought this book was okay up until then but the ending really annoyed me. 2y

CBee Thanks to @squirrelbrain @Megabooks and @BarbaraBB for a great time at camp! 💚💚💚 2y

squirrelbrain Yes, I wondered a similar thing too @Kitta - I thought maybe the whole book was a memory of the baby. But then my brain hurt so I stopped wondering! 🤣 I‘m not keen on books with an open ending, unless they‘re really well done. 2y

ChaoticMissAdventures @BarbaraBB are we supposed to find the last baby on earth hopeful?? I guess so but to me it was just utterly depressing and pointless. I agree with many above end with her driving off or with them just setting up the community. Though I don't understand why she would want to continue living with these people, I didn't like any of them and I don't think Neffy did either! 2y

squirrelbrain Oh dear @GatheringBooks - but your comment did make me laugh! 🤣 Plus I‘m a completist too so I hear you. (I feel the same way about Pod as you did about this but I *had* to finish it) 2y

Leniverse @Kitta @squirrelbrain What's his name, Luke, said that eventually they might be able to put somebody into someone else's memory. That was the goal. So maybe Nina was reliving Neffy's memories. Which, gross, what with the sex scenes and all 🤪 But also, who the hell continued developing that machine?! 2y

Kitta @leniverse ohhh good point, I didn‘t remember that. Weird she‘d be remembering her revisiting? Like memory in a memory? 2y

Soubhiville I feel ambivalent about the ending. On one hand I do think it‘s hopeful that there was another house with smoke coming from the chimney, that there were other survivors and maybe immune folks. On the other as @ChaoticMissAdventures said, Neffy didn‘t like or trust these people, would she want to continue living with them for the rest of her life just so she has companions? I don‘t quite buy that. 2y

julesG @Leniverse I was thinking about this "visiting another person's memory" idea but then hit the same question, who's going to update the machine? The new neighbours? 2y

Soubhiville Overall I enjoyed reading the book enough to give it a soft pick, but it does have a lot of flaws. I‘m not sure I‘d read another by Fuller. 2y

julesG Maybe it's atonement? It was a weird decision and I honestly hoped Neffy would load the ambulance and just drive off. @Soubhiville @ChaoticMissAdventures 2y

Soubhiville @julesG yes I was thinking the story would go that way too given the discovery of the others in the vax trial. I would have supported that ending. In continuing to live with them she‘s forgiving an awful lot! Which is hard to believe. How to ever put trust in any of them again? 2y

Soubhiville Maybe she had to forgive them in order to forgive herself for not being able to save her dad/ not being with her boyfriend at the end/ putting the woman across the street in danger/ etc. 2y

sarahbarnes I agree with @julesG that going out to meet the people living nearby should‘ve been the ending of the book. I would‘ve liked that a lot better. All that to say, I liked this one but didn‘t love it. I‘ve loved other books on the same topic much more. Thank you for being such good hosts this summer @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @Megabooks! 2y

Megabooks @Soubhiville I really enjoyed this by her. 👍🏻👍🏻

Unsettled Ground

Meshell1313 I kind of loved it. I loved the idea that the entire book could have just been memories instead of being told in real time. A nice surprise. Any other ending would have felt repetitive and cliche. I love when a book can make me say out loud “what?!?” 2y

TheKidUpstairs I didn't hate the ending, but I didn't love it either. I liked the idea that she was experiencing the memory of the story through the Revisitor, but didn't like the baby. It seemed unnecessary (and scientifically questionable) to rush that in. I like that she was woken from the revisit by a sound from outside, and I liked the open-endedness of that: are there other people out there? Are they healthy? Will she go out to meet them? 2y

batsy Agreed @merelybookish that was my issue with it. The ending also felt like a bit of a cop out. Of course the idea of humankind persevering with a new generation is nice to think about, but it lacks imagination. OK, there's a baby. So life goes on? What about the world that existed where everyone just died? Ugh. I don't know. 2y

jlhammar Yes to so much of what you all have said here! I'm guessing that the whole having a baby to continue humanity thing was supposed to be hopeful, but I found it terrible and irresponsible. We have no idea if “Shall we go and say hello?“ actually means there was a living human there. And we're supposed to believe that the revisitor still works like a dream 50+ years later? I took that ending to mean Nina is alone and is revisiting memories w/Neffy. 2y

jlhammar Thanks so much, Helen, for leading our discussions this month! It's been so fun to read and discuss these books with everyone. 2y

BarbaraBB @Megabooks @GatheringBooks I interpreted the ending that way, that she had a kid but I was wondering who that kid could grew up with since there were no people left as far as I knew? So no not hopeful but very depressing! 2y

Deblovestoread I had to go back to the end of the book after reading @julesG comment. Somehow I stopped at the page where Neffy opens the door to go meet the neighbors. That‘s the better ending. There‘s hope there for the survival of mankind. But even that doesn‘t save this book for me. My first Fuller, not sure if I will try a second. 2y

DebinHawaii I don‘t think Fuller “stuck the landing” for sure. I would have been good with leaving it at Neffy & the baby going out the door to find the other people from the smoke-the hope that there are other survivors. I reread the final pages a few times & remain confused. That being said, overall I liked the book & found it interesting. It kept my attention & I‘ll give it a pick but it‘s in last place for me if I look at all 6. Still thinking what my ⬇️ (edited) 2y

DebinHawaii …1st place pick will be! 🤔 Again thank you to our #CampLitsy23 hosts—I really enjoyed being a part of it this summer! @BarbaraBB @Megabooks @squirrelbrain 💚 💚💚 (edited) 2y

squirrelbrain I‘m looking forward to finding out our #camplitsy23 winner too! @DebinHawaii 2y

Hooked_on_books Like so many others, I would have preferred her going out to meet the neighbors to be the ending rather than Nina as an adult using the Revisitor. That just felt tacked on to me. I didn‘t mind the having the baby then everyone else dies part. I thought those events fit the story. On another note, did anyone else find it kinda gross that she was screwing her stepbrother? I didn‘t like that choice. Especially her mom winking at her about it. 2y

DebinHawaii @Hooked_on_books Yes, the wink especially seemed a little gross even if they weren‘t related by blood. 🫣 2y

ChaoticMissAdventures @Megabooks Unsettled Ground is the only one of hers I have read too, and I really enjoyed it. I think it was a Women's Prize long list book. 2y

Christine THANK YOU, @squirrelbrain , @BarbaraBB , and @Megabooks for these wonderful discussions! A lovely summer tradition. 2y

squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books - yes! That was a real WTF moment for me - I had to go back and re-read a few pages to see if I‘d got it wrong. And odd that it wasn‘t really addressed in any way within the book - why did it need to be her stepbrother? 2y

squirrelbrain You‘re welcome @christine @DebinHawaii @jlhammar @sarahbarnes @CBee - it‘s the campers that make this so special though - such great insights and discussions! 2y

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squirrelbrain

The Memory of Animals: From the Costa Novel-winning author of Unsettled Ground | Claire Fuller

#camplitsy23

What do you think of the author‘s writing style? Are there differences between empathy and sympathy demonstrated in this book?

If you‘ve read any of the author‘s other books, how does this one compare in style?

Megabooks, BarbaraBB

See All 31 Comments

julesG As a very blunt person (that's what I think of myself) I get that quote. To me empathy is feeling with others, sentimentality is wallowing in feelings. The book is not wallowing in feelings, it feels rather 'blunt' to me - I'm thinking of the childbirth description right now. We get the facts, we don't get "oh, it was such a shame they weren't there to help, see the baby, see her first steps,... Woe be me, I'm so alone." 2y

merelybookish I find it hard to define sentimentality. I just know it makes me cringe when something feels like it's sentimental. Wallowing is a good way of putting it! @julesG Maybe sentimentality, also feels simplistic? Like if something is sad, it's really sad, and that's it. I would not say this book felt sentimental. I've only read 1 of her other novels. I have a thing for books about absent/missing mothers so liked

Swimming Lessons

merelybookish Also, isn't empathy just part of what we expect from most novelists? 2y

Megabooks I agree with Day. This is the third Fuller I‘ve read this year, and I agree with this for her writing overall. 2y

TrishB I‘ve liked her other books, but didn‘t like this one. Have never found her sentimental. 2y

Kitta I thought the memories/revisiting and the letters seemed sentimental but the actual plot and current things happening lacked sentimentality and was more blunt, as @julesG said. So I‘m not sure I completely agree about the whole book lacking sentimentality. Just my opinion though 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y

GatheringBooks I think I will pass reading another Claire Fuller novel at this point. I found neither empathy nor sentimentality; just a hodge podge of ideas thrown together without coherence. Again, this may just be me really. 2y

CBee This didn‘t seem sentimental to me - Day maybe means sentimentality to be the cheesy, cloying kind and I didn‘t get that at all. Maybe I‘m wrong in interpreting her meaning though. I haven‘t read any of Fuller‘s other books, but would like to as I enjoyed this one! (edited) 2y

Bookwormjillk @GatheringBooks agree 2y

ChaoticMissAdventures Sentimental for me is where someone is led more by emotions than rational thought - wallowing is a good way to put it when the person is looking back, and I think Neffy is a sentimental person (releasing the octopus and writing to it) but Fuller writes the book with and overarching empathy that does not cross the line. Maybe b/c we spend 1/3 of the time in the present which is very stark and filled with unlikable characters. 2y

julesG @GatheringBooks Right there with you 2y

squirrelbrain @CBee - I liked this one. Still a bit weird and dark, but more coherent than Animals.

Unsettled Ground

Soubhiville I read Swimming Lessons and really disliked it. I may even have bailed on it. So I was surprised to like this one even though I do see faults with it. 2y

Soubhiville @julesG I like your definitions of empathy and sympathy. I think you‘re pretty spot on. 2y

CBee @squirrelbrain I like weird and dark 😂🤪 Thanks for the rec! 2y

Meshell1313 Oh that‘s interesting actually. I can see that is there is level of detachment that comes through while all of these horrific things are going on. I think even using the revisitor adds to that level of detachment. Not wanted to invest emotionally in the present but instead escape. 2y

TheKidUpstairs To me, sentimentality in novels is trying to force the reader's emotional experience, where empathy is giving/writing the character's emotional experience. I get frustrated with sentimentality, if you want me to feel sadness, tell me a sad story, don't tell me why I should be sad. This one was definitely not sentimental, although it didn't feel particularly empathetic either. But I think that was because Neffy herself had a hard time (cont'd) 2y

TheKidUpstairs ...empathizing with other people, so that level of disconnect worked for me with this story. I really enjoyed Fuller's writing style, I think it was why I enjoyed this one despite it's problems. I'm interested to check out more. 2y

jlhammar Yeah, I think that blurb is apt, I don't find Fuller's writing sentimental. I first read Our Endless Numbered Days years ago and really liked it. Then I read Swimming Lessons and didn't really get on with it. My third Fuller was Unsettled Ground which I loved. I haven't tried Bitter Orange yet, but might eventually. I'd definitely be open to read whatever she writes next. 2y

batsy I agree in that I do think Fuller is an interesting writer (hence I'm willing to try her other books) and she didn't really lean into being sentimental in how she describes things, but I felt the Revisitor plot thing was a sentimental way of structuring the book, and it rubbed me the wrong way. So idk lol. Like @merelybookish says, novelists should ideally be empathetic because how else are you going to depict a character 🤷🏾‍♀️ 2y

Deblovestoread I do think the author was trying to build empathy for Neffy so we‘d be rooting for her in the end. Typically you‘d appreciate a character who wanted to release a wild creature back to his natural habitat, someone who wanted to go back and revisit their loved ones, who wouldn‘t turn away the unlikeable other characters. 2y

squirrelbrain I love everyone‘s comments here on the difference between empathy and sympathy; it‘s really enlightened things for me. 2y

DebinHawaii I have not read any of her books although I have had Swimming Lessons on my TBR for ages from #BOTM but I find the quote to be mostly true for the writing in this book. Fuller wants us to understand what Neffy has been going through but as others have said, not to “wallow” in it & she mostly describes what is happening to us as observers so we understand with compassion, but aren‘t spending time pitying Neffy or the other characters. 2y

Hooked_on_books Yes, I definitely agree with the quote. Sentimentality in writing is like fingernails on a chalkboard for me—I don‘t want to have anything to do with it. And I didn‘t get that from this book at all. But I feel like she built empathy for Neffy by showing her as deeply human and flawed, like all of us. I think anyone could find something about her to relate to. 2y

JamieArc I‘m going to have to do some thinking on this. I somehow missed along the way that sentimentality is a bad thing, because I‘m pretty sure that I‘m at least a little bit of a sentimental person 🫣 2y

squirrelbrain @JamieArc is sentimentality such a bad thing though? We seem to have picked up on the negative connotations as a comparison with empathy, but there‘s a fine line, I think. 2y

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