The Ethical Carnivore
Louise Gray
A vegetarian/vegan for many years, Louise set out only to eat meat that she had killed herself, or at least saw killed. After a scarring experience at her first abattoir visit, Louise takes a while to get on the train of killing larger animals, but rediscovers a love of other animal meats.
I’m not exactly certain what to say about this book. It looks quite unflinchingly at the conditions at some chicken and pig primary production farms, but also shows the positive side of eating meat! I felt like I was wandering around the English countryside with Louise the whole way, which was fascinating just in itself.
Even her vegan friends tested the roadkill that Louise prepares for them to eat! It’s dead already of course (even if it was a human that killed it), and so they aren’t at fault right? The idea of being an ethical anything is difficult, let alone being an ethical carnivore when something else needs to die for you to eat.
After reading this novel I was filled with questions about meat! I wanted to get my hands on more meat to eat right away! Specifically, rabbit or kangaroo, as both of those are often considered vermin in Australia. I don’t have the experience, and the gun laws are quite strict here, otherwise I would love to test my nerve in killing my own food. As it is, I think I would just have to settle for learning how to dissect it for eating.
This is a non-fiction book so I’m not going to give it any stars. However it was well-written and enjoyable, and I would recommend it strongly to anyone who wants to know more about the meat they eat. “Meat, we were made to eat it.”
Bloomsbury | 1st November 2016 | AU $27.99 | paperback
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This is a nifty concept that takes advantage of social media’s continual encroachment into our lives. Why not take it one more step so it hangs around after your death? After all, you’ll be gone and not able to see the inevitable fallout! But how do you sustain money into the business when all your users die?
This is told in the style of a fairy tale, which I appreciated. The novel is bookended by short sections that tell us what happened when we aren’t looking from Feo’s perspective. There is a hint of Russian culture, although there could have been more of this. I honestly can say I’m interested in Russia and it has a unique environment that I like (maybe it’s the snow?).
I liked Henry’s self-awareness and his relationships with his friends. His friends are always willing to pick him up (unless they are also lying down) and there is a happy dynamic that makes the plot feel more real. Sure, the ‘Australian’ bloke is bloody caricaturish, but that’s pretty typical.
This is a more gritty version of 
I don’t know what drew me to this novel, or what kept me reading. In any other case, I think I would have gotten frustrated with the glacial pacing, with very little action. However this novel had the right protagonist for me to keep reading. How could I not love Billi? Talk about the underdog (pun intended). I really enjoyed the unassuming and thoughtful dialogue inside Billi’s brain.
What I liked about this novel was that there was plenty of Grim time. I love Grim as a character because he is so real and flawed and fantastic! Don’t get me wrong, I also like Blackthorn, but it’s nice to have a counterpoint to the somewhat traditional role of ‘Grumpy Healer’.
I felt somewhat frustrated by the ending. Nate, why? Anon, why? This made no sense at all. Sure, they’ll fix things somehow, but why did they do that? Perhaps someone else who has read it can give me a more informed opinion for why on earth the ending worked.
I find it very difficult to give an objective assessment of this novel. It’s told from Jess’ perspective, which granted is rather limited. Jess is basically a book stealer by trade, and so he looks at everything with a certain degree of detachment, which is actually very useful. He could do better with hiding his emotions though!