arash's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.75

andotherworlds's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

4 // rtc

sarahkathleenbest's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative reflective slow-paced

2.0

gadicohen93's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I finished this book a few hours ago. When I started it, and while gushing through the first hundred or so pages of it, I constantly asked myself, "Would this book have the power to convert me to vegetarianism?"

At this point in time, I think it has. Everything about its research and information and the way Foer presented it and found meaning in it made me want to stop whoring my body to the American standard of the factory farm system and start building within myself a (as clichéd as it sounds) better person, one that knows, and acts on this knowledge. And really, it’s not that I didn’t have access to some of these horrifying, horrifying facts or that I’ve never seen videos of chickens being smashed into walls and, even worse, videos/images of their lives in perpetual gridlock of unnaturally humongous bodies with shit all around them, etc.; it’s that those little facts and things came across as propaganda when not delivered in this book form.

Even before reading this book, I never eat at KFC, ever, ever, ever. Never at McDonald’s. It started when I led my own investigation into PETA videos and witnessed the kinds of attacks on these corporations that really made me conscious of my ability to choose what to eat. I might’ve flirted with pescatarianism or whatever, but veg is just so difficult-sounding. Until reading this book, however, I haven't realized how truly pathetic I am for convincing myself that I'm kinda for animal "rights" (possibly one of the biggest lies I've ever perpetuated ever.)

At times it felt like Foer was on his way to conclusions that were so safe as to sound almost banal: Stop eating meat. It hurt the writing, I think. But by the end those rough places all reached their conclusions by painting a powerfully original picture. Overall, I feel like I don’t ever want to eat animals again, whether it’s because I don’t want them to experience any kind of suffering, or because I want to make this world more sustainable so that living here on earth could still be a future possibility, or because I just don’t want to put corpses into my mouth.

More than anything else, though, this quote exemplifies the rewards I’d collect by skipping meat:
“What kind of world would we create if three times a day we activated our compassion and reason as we sat down to eat … ?” Taking those moments out of life to be compassionate is truly a goal I wish to strive for.

hopedihop's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Wäre ich nicht schon Vegetarierin gewesen - nach der Lektüre dieses Buches wäre ich es spätestens.
Jeder, absolut jeder Mensch, der er sich leisten kann seine Ernährung auszuwählen, sollte dieses Buch lesen.

Es war der absolute Horror. Mir ist regelmäßig schlecht geworden, ich musste das Buch regelmäßig zur Seite lesen, weil ich so gezittert habe. Ich habe jede Seite gehasst.
Das liegt aber nicht an diesem Buch - ein Meisterwerk, ein absolutes wichtiges Buch - sondern an der Realität, die dieses beschreibt. Wir sind widerlich.

basilbasil's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

saneyossarian's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

ellie_pan's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

4.5

elin_am's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

This book is absolutely awesome. Not only does Jonathan Safran Foer write glorious fictional stories, he also portray the animal industry from multiple different perspectives - all of which will make you question your food choices. I had been a vegetarian for 6 years when I read this book (constantly ducking my vegan friend's comments on my consumption of dairy & eggs... not wanting to see the truth), and this book painted the truth loud and clear for me. Half thru I went vegan over night and now, almost 5 years later, I can not thank him enough. It was indeed one of the best decisions I've made. When the facts about the animal industry is presented in such a direct and clear way you can not duck it any longer. The truth hurts, but Jonathan Safran Foer presents it for us with compassion.

unicornofjoy's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5