Cover Image: The Art of Taxidermy

The Art of Taxidermy

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This would have easily been a 5 star book if the story was told in a traditional format. Verse just seemed to leave too many gaps.

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I have two types of 1 stars: books I didn't retain anything from and books I hated with a fiery passion. This book was the former of the two. I really like books told in verse and I was pretty interested in the premise of this book but I think the two didn't combine well for me. In the beginning it jumped a little bit between information points from poem to poem. This caused for not a lot being explained well. Therefore later on I found things hard to follow and finally I just didn't retain anything.

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3*.

I clearly need to read the books I download faster because I cannot recall what led me to download this one. It was definitely outside of my regular genre comfort zone but I enjoyed it.

The Art of Taxidermy is a novel told in short prose. It is the story of Lottie, a young girl of German descent growing up in Australia in what seems to be the 70s or 80s. Lottie has lost her mother and struggles to fit in with other children. Partly because she is outcast as a German, partly because she is odd, and partly because she is slightly obsessed with the idea of finding and re-animating dead animals.

I found Lottie endearing and despite taking a while to warm up to the writing style and the prose, I actually quite enjoyed it.

I'd recommend this one to my friends with darker tastes.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.

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Creepy girls! Verse novels! Dead people! Germany! All my favourite things wrapped up into one book. I loved this a lot, it's so hard to make a verse novel work without losing sight of the poetry, but Kernot definitely creates something beautiful. I loved Lottie, and although she is pushed towards science, sometimes you just want to read about a strange girl touching dead things.

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I'm not even going to lie here; I picked up this book only because I loved the cover.

I had no idea what it was about. Or what genre it was.

So, what a surprise it was for me when I opened the book and verses were staring back at me, which was a bit shocking because I tried to stay away from modern poetry.
However, after finishing, I would say that it was more of prose written in verse. But that's beside the point.

It was almost fascinating, at first having no idea what's going on and then slowly, the story started to unravel in front of my eyes.

The taxidermy line, Lottie's mother, who is Annie, the life of German immigrants in Australia and more.

I have a hard time deciding what to really say about this one. I would not say that I really enjoyed this book to the point I would go back to it, but at the same time it was very fascinating, and I'm still a bit marvelling at what I read.
And as some of you may know, I'm not a fan of modern poetry, but with this book, I even considered liking the poetry part of it!

Yeah, and the cover is really pretty if I forgot to mention that.

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The Art of Taxidermy, an Australian award-winning novel-in-verse, explores a German-Australian's girl's grieving process, as she mourns the death of her mother and sister, as well as her family's internment during WWII. After Lottie's older sister drowns and her mother dies during stillbirth, Lottie becomes obsessed with taxidermy, which she views as an attempt at resurrection. She begins collecting bodies of dead creatures and gutting them, which horrifies her Aunt Hilda, who is helping her dad raise Lottie. Her only friend is an Indigenous boy who bonds with her over their shared loneliness. He helps her with her collection and moving toward her dream of becoming a museum taxidermist.

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This YA contemporary had a bit of a slower feeling to it than I expected, but the dreamlike quality of the writing fit the pacing perfectly. I loved the sort of magical realism elements to the story and can't wait for more from this author!

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There aren't any other YA titles about taxidermy, so this book definitely wins a prize for its eye-opening look into the art. I was not as won over by the verse format, however; too often I felt as if it left gaps in the story. Regardless, an interesting debut.

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The Art of Taxidermy is completely not what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. It felt very raw and deep to read this text but I had to read it in parts as it wasn't something I could read all at once as there were so many feelings attached to each word.

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I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital arc of The Art of Taxidermy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so intrigued about this when I read the synopsis on netgalley so I was so happy when I was approved for it.

I found the writing style of this quite interesting, the plot itself was quite slow and there didn’t seem to be too much happening, aside from Lottie finding animals and bringing them home to try and “resurrect” via taxidermy and her Aunt Hilda constantly trying to make her more of a typical girl and ultimately destroying all of her creations.

A lot of this novel is about the loss of Lotties mother, but I felt the loss of Annie a lot more, as she just couldn’t give her up, in fact it took me a little while to realise that Annie wasn’t actually real and Lottie was just imagining her.

Throughout the novel there are some stunning illustrations that help break up the pacing.

You could see that Lottie’s father wanted to support her, he cleared out his shed to give her somewhere to work, but I do believe he struggled against her Aunt Hilda- as she was the only female in her life.

I will say though, if you have issues with the concept of death or graphic mentions of death and taxidermy then maybe this isn’t for you, I did have to stop reading every now and then as I found it a little too much for me at times.

Aside from that I do have to say that this was beautifully written and it really packs a punch.

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The Art of Taxidermy is a novel written in verse and the first of its kind I read. I have to say it took a little bit to get used to the format but at about 30% I was fully immersed and couldn't put it down.

“I can feel it, Annie whispered.
The air is heavy with ghosts.
The birds sing only sad songs.
The ground swallowed many tears.”

The writing is truly beautiful and some poems (chapters?) really touched me. I have marked quite a few, actually.
I also had a tear in my eye one time. It is such a wonderful story about a girl and her grief. Her unique way to see the world and experience the beauty in things other people don't usually.

It might be a bit repetitive at times but in my opinion that actually added to the simple charm of the story. We follow Lottie trying to cope with the death of her mother. She starts to collect dead animals, a hobby her aunt is shocked by. I loved the way the relationship with her aunt is portrayed because it shows that sometimes people may want the best for us but hurt us in the process. That doesn't mean they love us any less though.

I really appreciated how her father encouraged her to find her own way, to grief, to live.

The book also touched on the subjects of isolation and discrimination. It takes place in Australia and Lottie's family are German immigrants who didn't always have it easy there (Her parents lived through the second world war and the time of the internment camps in Australia).

Sharon Kernot uses a lot of imagery in her novel. If you can let yourself be wrapped in this story, you can feel the wind and the sun.
Although a fair warning: If you can't stand the description of dead animals, maybe this is not for you.

While the way this story is told took some getting used to (especially when you're like me and rarely read verse novels or poetry collections) it was the perfect way for this book. I couldn't imagine it being written any other way. It perfectly captures the feeling of being unanchored after such a loss, the innocence of children and the strange beauty we can find anywhere in the world if we dare to search for it in unusual places.

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The Art of Taxidermy is the story of 11 year old Lottie as she copes with grief after the death of her mother. It’s written in the form of a poem with beautiful descriptions of animals and landscapes.

Lottie’s aunt sees her fascination with dead animals as strange and sabotages her collection but this does not stop her with her ambition to become a taxidermist at a museum and she endeavours to improve her skills in the art with the support of her father. At many levels this is about following your dreams and being true to yourself.

It’s not a hugely plot driven novel though there are revelations along the way. It’s about people and emotions and the importance of remembering and talking about the person who has gone and allowing individuals to grieve in their own time and way.

I found it very moving, especially the ending and will certainly read any further novels by this author.

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This was a quick read that I liked! It was really beautiful, and I enjoyed the verse format. However, it went a little too quickly for me. I didn't really feel like I had a chance to grow to care about any of the characters. However, it really was lovely, and I don't regret reading it at all.

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I'm a big fan of verse novels, especially when the bulk of the plot focus on a character's inner journey or self exploration. When the author is good at imagery, making us feel along with the character it transcends story to become art. And that's certainly the case here. Even when I wasn't clear on the context of a moment, when I was confused about he actual plot, I was sharing Lottie's experience. A little more context for the setting and events in the world at large would have been nice. But this is a book to read more for how it's being told than what is being told. That style won't work for everyone but I enjoyed it.

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Unfortunately this book was a DNF (did not finish) for me. I’m not particularly fond of reading in verse although the verse did enhance the spookiness of the subject matter. But other than that, this book fell flat. I had a hard time connecting with the main character which made this book a struggle to get through. The book does touch on grief and I believe that was handled in a beautiful way. I can see how other reviewers liked the book so if you are a fan of verse writing, you should give this book a try!

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3.75

"They are perfect - perfectly dead."

Charlotte lost her mother and her sister, and her father never recovered from their loss. So Lottie started looking for beauty in the world, for something to connect herself with the lost ones. She found out that animals were magical and beautiful in their fragility. Animals were pure beauty and were so full of life that she wanted to collect them. But animals could die, so she undertook her journey to collect a beuty that never dies.

"The air is heavy with ghosts. The birds sing only sad songs. The ground swallowed many tears. "

This book is written in verse and I think that this was the right choice for a peculiar story such as this one. The protagonist is looking for a way to pass through her grief and the journey of the taxidermy's Learning is an important step to enter the world in an acceptable way for herself.
I don't like taxidermy, I feel sorry for the dead animals hung to the walls, but I can comprehend Lottie's desire to create a world for herself and her grief, a way to connect with her past and her future at the same time.

"This is what you need, my dear Lottie. Life, not Death. Life. "

One of the things I liked the most was the father's support to his daughter's scientific heart. At the same time, her aunt was a good character. I also liked the setting and the historical references about WWII. I was really interested in the little knowledge written in the book.

The last thing I want to remember about this book is the great pain and th great grief you could feel reading the pages. Some things are repeated because when you are in grief you pour salt into a wound thinking everytime at the same obsessive thoughts, as if your mind were fixed on the loss and nothing else could enter your brain.

Beauty can be found in sad books, even if the themes are not entirely acceptable for your beliefs.

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I was first drawn in by the title, The Art of Taxidermy. The first thing I could think of was those horrible taxidermy horrors that fail to capture the animal's natural expression and thereby somehow elevate the sadness of their death. So yes, I understood there's an art to it, but I was fascinate to see how Sharon Kernot's verse novel would tackle such a difficult topic. Thanks to Text Publishing and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Art of Taxidermy is a novel about grief and growing up with the shadow of it. Lottie has lot her mother and has now begun collecting and "fixing" dead things. Her aunt is horrified, since taxidermy or an interest in dead things is nowhere near appropriate for a young girl in the 1960s. Her father, however, might see that there is more to her interest than just grief. Kernot shows us Lottie's growing interest while also slowly developing the world around her. Lottie makes a Aboriginal friend through whose presence both Lottie and the reader are confronted with a very different but equally traumatic loss of identity. Kernot also adds another layer of loss and grief by delving slightly into Lottie's family history as Germans, especially into her father and grandfather's stay in a detention camp during the second World War. Kernot shows us that loss and grief are all around us and it makes for a very raw reading experience at times.

The structure of The Art of Taxidermy is a very interesting one. Although the story is told in a linear fashion, it is fragmented, with only the most important moments brought to the forefront. The moment she discovered a dead mouse, the moment her collection is discovered, moments of love, moments of sadness. They all come together to form an incomplete yet recognizable picture of a young girl growing up in a world that is no longer kind. It felt very reminiscent to me of how memory works. Although it being a verse novel was one of my major draws to Kernot's The Art of Taxidermy, I had completely forgotten that by the time I started reading it. I was surprised initially, then remembered, and finally found myself engrossed by Kernot's style. By restraining herself, Kernot is able to put a lot of power into a few words. Bringing these two things together, Keronot is able to introduce something akin to plot twists and surprises, while maintaining the poetry of her writing and the calmness of tone.

Sharon Kernot's writing is beautiful. The Art of Taxidermy is full of vivid descriptions, of the vastness of the Australian landscape as well as the minute beauty of a mouse skeleton. At times the descriptions may be quite morbid, but by not hiding the blood, guts and gore, Kernot packs a much more powerful punch. Although The Art of Taxidermy could seem sensationalist, involving taxidermy and young grieving girls, it is actually a very meditative novel, which is aided by the fact that it is a verse novel. Kernot takes her time with Lottie but spares words. Acts are repeated, stubbornly, with everyone involved expecting a different outcome each time. For some readers this may be off-putting, but the way the story circled back to Lottie's grief or coping mechanism made sense to me. In the end The Art of Taxidermy was a quick read for me but an interesting one. I found myself thinking of how we look at grief, at loss, how crippled families can be by it, and how we can, maybe, move on from it.

I greatly enjoyed the poetic calm of The Art of Taxidermy. Kernot doesn't shy away from the horror of death (or taxidermy), but delivers a heartfelt story about a young girl doing the best she can. I'd recommend this verse novel to lovers of poetry and those interested in grief and loss.

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2.5 OUT OF 5 STARS

The Art of Taxidermy is a story written in verse. It took me a bit to get into the story because of that, as I don’t tend to read novels in verse very often. The writing style was gorgeous in this, it was beautifully crafted. The writing style was my favourite aspect of The Art of Taxidermy. Due to the fact that it was written in verse I managed to fly through this book a lot faster than I thought I would. (Just thought I would mention that as well.)

As you can already guess, by the title of this book, the story has a big focus on taxidermy. There are quite a few gruesome scenes and descriptions in this book. If descriptions of dead animals bother you I would definitely stay clear of this book! Personally, it wasn’t something that bothered me. But then again I grew up reading Stephen King, so I can stomach quite a lot.

Speaking of the story, I was bored while reading this book. It seemed like nothing was happening and there were some repetitive moments. The characters also weren’t that memorable to me. All of them just felt flat. I couldn’t connect to Lottie at all, as she seemed unfazed by everything that was happening around her. The only thing that seemed to interest her was taxidermy and nothing else. I do understand in some ways why it was like that, but because of it I couldn’t emotionally connect to the story. One of the side characters is an Aboriginal boy, so there was some talk about indigenous people. I can’t comment on how that representation was handled.

Overall, The Art of Taxidermy was beautifully written but it lacked in story and characters. I’m not sure if this was a case of just me not connecting to the book, or if the story and characters weren’t well crafted. I think I’m unsure because of the format that this book was written in, as it’s not something that I’m used to.

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This was my first verse novel, so I wasn't sure it I would take to it. I finished it in one sitting and it was glorious. It's the story of a young girl in Australia who, surrounded by death, tries in her own way to make death beautiful. I loved it. It's one of the most beautiful things I've read this year. Her love of nature, especially animals, really spoke to me and reminded me capturing and mounting butterflies. I especially appreciated that her father could see who she really was and not just a girl who should do girly things. The novel also briefly touches on Australian internment camps during WWII and what it was like to be a German who had fled Nazi Germany only to end up in an internment camp in a foreign country. Highly recommend. It didn't feel YA to me.

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Review: I was excited to read this young adult book because I have never heard of a book on taxidermy (in YA) before. Very interesting summery, so why not?

I was surprised to find out within the first few pages of this book that it was told through prose (poetry), and that did cause me to have a harder time to get into the book. Now, don't get me wrong I'm all for poetry-I love reading it. But, I was a bit thrown by it within the context of the plot/summary of this book. In the end it took me about two days to read this book and a day and a half to work through my notes to start writing up this review. 

With the poetry style writing, everything that was being told was so much darker and creepy. So, perfect! All fun aside, it was hard trying to figure out common information that is readily given in novel format of a book. It took way too long to put together that our main character's name is (well, nickname) Lottie and this is set a while back (time wise, I'd say a little after WW2). One the things I didn't get information (at least to put together) about her family being German and were living in Australia, also that her sister wasn't really with her (I thought she was an invisible best friend).

What I did like was how we get see overtime why Lottie loves to study and keep dead animals, skulls ect. Her whole life (she's six when the story starts and goes till she's 13, I think?) she has been surrounded and in the shadow of death. Her grandfather dies at an internment camp, her mother and youngest sibling die during the birth (the baby was stillborn and her mother was too weak and heartbroken). Her uncle dies and as we find out later her older sister (the oldest sibling) died when Lottie was young (and her mother was still alive). Although, it was nice to read about her and Annie (the older sister) liking the same things and seeing the beauty in death together (there is a rather chill inducing poem of Annie talking about how she died).

Lottie's grandmother, aunt and father are very present in her life, her aunt trying to straighten her out to be a normal young girl. Who does not understand Lottie's interest in dead things and keeping them, which makes her be the one who throws them out . In the end though, she is able to understand Lottie and her love (and her reasons for before, and how she thought that Lottie needed life instead of more death in her life).

Overall, I loved Lottie's drive and passion for taxidermy from such a young age. Although, with her family dynamic and the hardships each of them went through, and how Lottie went through so much death and sadness and found this beautiful passion from it (recreating and bringing back the dead in  a way).

Favorite quote(s):

I studied my beautiful corpse, in their decay.

I never cried.

I do not remember much

about Mother.

she was a shadow

that hovered in the dark corners of the 

house.

It was as if I had traveled

the distance

to his heart,

to the dark recesses

of his grief.

Your everything

is hers-

Your mother's.

You are a gift

And a curse.

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