Lyrical, visceral, gorgeous, biting, furious, compelling. Such a gorgeous story packed with folklore and queer desire!

This was an interesting read. It was so interesting that I had to re-read parts of it to understand it at times fully. I do enjoy it when books make me think, but this one was a bit too much thinking.

In the end, it did get much better, and I was able to follow where the story was going, but the parts leading up to it were not as clear to me.

I would read other books by this author because I know what I am getting into now.

I've followed K-Ming Chang's work for a while now and I was so excited about this when I first heard about it. It did not let me down! I love a dog motif in literature and I find this book so compelling. I can tell K-Ming Chang is a poet through this novel - really beautiful writing!

I don’t think this is my kind of book. It was a bit too surrealistic for me where I found myself spacing out reading it, and when I was halfway through I still didn’t really know what was going on or the point of the book. I will applaud the book for its prose and lyrical writing. A few quotes definitely stood out to me and I will keep them in my mind for quite some time, but it wasn’t enough to keep me interested. I tried it as an ebook and audiobook, but my mind just didn’t want to focus.

At its core, Organ Meats is a poetic and creative story about two girls who are obsessed with each other on another level, one that borders on obsessive. Great idea, but the writing wasn’t my style.

I met K-Ming Chang and attended her panel for this book at Miami Book Fair and loved it so much!!!! The book was really enjoyable and deep, and Chang's prose never fails to dazzle.

Ok this is beautifully written and I acknowledge its craft, but what is going on with the nonstop shit imagery? It would be excessive for any recurring motif in a novel. It’s somehow worse than what Paradise Rot does for piss and that was already distractingly lazy.

DNF @21%

This book is just making me feel super uncomfortable. Too many sexual and just plain weird things are being mentioned in regards to children and I just cannot read about it anymore.

I love K-Ming Chang's storytelling. The way that she languages! There's a wildness here and I am here for it! For instance: "the red dog surging, piloting its teeth, leaping up and snipping the strand of shit from my ass." Lol. Expect the mellifluous and unexpected and gross! Expect fluids and subversion, sweetness and queer/queer/queer and surreal. I want more!

But she might not be the dog you remember or who remembers you. It was a risk, Rainie knew, and she generally avoided those. She wanted a world where she could be weightless. But Anita multiplied her, duplicating their human lives into dog lives, their dog lives into dream lives. They had been together for so many species. Meeting again as strangers would only mean another life together. Then I’ll choose her again, Rainie said. I’ll choose to know her. As many times as I can.

I sat with this book for a while before I thought to write an actual review. It's not an easy or even particularly satisfying read, but wow, is it beautifully written.

I was lucky enough to find a copy of K-Ming Chang's Bone House at a book sale a few years ago, which definitely left an impression as well. Of all the chapbooks and short stories I've read, Bone House was memorable enough that as soon as I saw K-Ming Chang's name on Netgalley, I immediately requested a review copy of Organ Meats.

As the title implies, this book is visceral in a very literal sense. There is significant body horror present, though this is not a horror novel. It's part of this unique, highly-stylized way of writing that I felt right down to my core.

I think when you read a lot, you reserve high ratings for the books that stand out from the crowd and are memorable long after you finish the last page. There are books that I will always remember because of the time or place that I read them, or I connected to them at that point in my life. Then there are books that I will always remember because the writing touched me in a very physical way: Notes from Underground, Crush, Tender is the Flesh. It's too soon to tell, but ask me in a year, and I will likely add Organ Meats to that list.

I am sure there is an audience for this book, but it is not for me. I tried, but I could not do it. I would definitely try other works by this author if they are not the same kind of story. I guess the cover fooled me, as it is an amazing cover and title.

K-Ming Chang is quickly becoming a must read for me. I've been really into reading Rachel Harris's stuff lately and I feel like K-Ming Chang is a similar world but on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of tone. And I, for one, am all about it. The character and relationship work in this was amazing. It's upsetting and endearing and unsettling and charming. Everything I could have hoped for.

I have adored K-Ming Chang's other two books, so it really pains to me to admit I am DNF'ing this one at 31 percent. It's just TOO surreal for me. I don't know what's happening, and not in the beautiful way her other books made me feel, but in a way that I feel like even if I keep reading, I'll just be reading words and not absorbing the story. Sadly, this one was not for me. Will definitely still read whatever she writes next, though!

Organ Meats is a story of two young girls, who one summer decide to be dogs. But really it is about the type of friendship you can only have when you are young together, about codependency and girlhood and queerness, about losing that bond and growing up. It is strange, it is surreal, and it is gross at times, not shying away from bodily fluids or the stickiness and grime of being a child who is maybe also a little bit of a wild animal.
This is a book that will take some time to digest (excuse the pun), and I’m still not sure what was real and what was the remnants of a child’s imagination, but here is my attempt at telling you what this book is about.
Anita and Rainie are two young girls who perhaps through proximity or a shared strangeness, are best friends. One summer they decide that through observing the stray dogs in a lot by their apartment building, they themselves will become dogs, and return to their canine heritage. They wear a red string around their necks that over the years becomes more than a leash but a string of fate that bonds them together. A string of fate that tugs at Rainie’s throat and will eventually return her to Anita a decade after she had moved away. Rainie and Anita are bound by something deeper than blood, and when Anita falls into a coma without Rainie at her side and begins to rot away, Rainie must build her a new body. It is a story of Frankenstein as a love story between girls.
I saw someone on Goodreads describe it as My Brilliant Friend for people who like cannibalism metaphors, which honestly just about sums it up. Of all the books I’ve reviewed and recommended, this one is by far the one that is not for everyone, to be honest it’s probably not for most. It’s extremely surreal and strange, reading it was often a task of untangling a messy string of dreamlike stories, metaphors, metaphors that are actually not metaphors, and fragments of memories and dreams. I enjoy strange, weird books, and I really appreciate something that’s experimental in its storytelling, and still I did struggle to fully grasp this story. It’s a book that challenged me as a reader and required my full attention and focus, and despite being so short, it took me a month to read. But I am grateful I did. Organ Meats contained some of the best writingI think I’ve ever read, and in its own weird, gory, gross way, it told a story of girlhood that I could relate to. With everything said, if it still sounds like something you might like, I would definitely recommend this strange little book.

I've been following Chang's work since she was writing poetry under a different writer name, and I always say her work is seductive in a dark way. ORGAN MEATS is the crown jewel of that--I was not expecting what I was reading, but I loved it quite a bit.

Thank you to Random House & NetGalley for sharing this title~

K-Ming Chang is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. After reading Gods of Want earlier this year, I was so excited to learn she had another book coming out.

This book is a combination of two things I love: complicated female friendship and weird girl stuff. Essentially chilhood best friends Anita and Rainie discover they come from a long generation of dog-headed women and decide to become dogs. What follows is a surreal fever-dream of complex intimacy, organs, and as stated before, weird girl stuff.

K-Ming Chang has such a unique voice and presence on the page. I cant wait to read more from her.

this follows anita and rainie, two best friends bound by a red string and canine heritage. when they get separated, anita falls into a coma that only rainie can save her from. but this leaves rainie with the question: how far is she willing to go for the girl who has haunted her all this time?

this book is so different than what i normally read. however, i took a chance, which i am so grateful for. i could not put this down and i know it will stay in my mind for a long time. the writing was so perfect and i am definitely interested in reading more from k-ming chang now.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc!

unique as hell, written beautifully, and well developed. I cant say I was familiar with this title prior to finding it on here, that cover is a stunner.

Still making my way through this one, about half way through, but I already know it will be another 5 star read from K-Ming Chang. The way that she is able to bring these vibrant, vivid worlds to life is so unique, and unlike anything I've ever read before. Her books are so special, and this story is already resonating with me so deeply. Will definitely post a full review on my Goodreads once I finish!

DNF @ 13% - I really tried to get into this one, but after numerous scatological scenes, which I was barely able to tolerate, there was a very odd scene with the two girls trying to pee through the fence like a boy. So, I will be stopping here.

It is my understanding that if you are a K-Ming Chang reader already, this will be of interest to you.

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Woo! What a ride! I've read K-Ming's other books, and absolutely loved them. This is no exception. Honestly, I was both prepared and unprepared (in a good way) for this latest book. I knew it was going to amazing prose and a good story... and I was right. This story was utterly visceral, and it really helped amply the storytelling of this poetic, haunting, and beautiful story of two best friends, Anita and Rainie. This books reads like a fever dream that you are captivated by and almost never want to leave until you know how it ends. That's how I felt as I was reading this book. I can't wait for K-Ming's next book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this eARC!