Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Severance

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Severance by Ling Ma

12 reviews

caprivoyant's review against another edition

Plot- or character-driven? Character

I'll be feeling the ripples of this book in my heart for a long time, I think. It feels almost inseparable now from the real world's dystopian-like policies around a pandemic/epidemic. Candace felt real. What she was navigating felt real. And her story, although arguably a very lonely one, made me feel more connected to myself and helped me process a sadness about the world in a way that only a work of fiction can facilitate.

Was it perfect? Probably not. But it was everything I needed it to be and more. ❤️‍🩹

Content Warnings

darthbiblia's review

Go to review page

dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Whoa. This book came out years before COVID, but the descriptions of the early stages were so uncanny. The dry humor and office politics, concerns about foreign labor and gender issues. I loved the story of her immigrant parents assimilating in the United States, then bringing her as a small child. This was a beautiful story, and I was sad that it ended. I look forward to more from this author.

Content Warnings

dedusmuln's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i was gonna be generous and do 3 stars because the cultural parts of this book were compelling, but frankly this book was a snooze fest with a whimper of an ending

warm bodies starring nicolas fucking hoult managed to make me feel more about an apocalypse and the ~literary~ elements of this book are so overwrought it borders on self-sucking. the most poignant moments in this story are overshadowed by clunky cult shenanigans, a terrible flashback and flash-flashback structure, and an incredibly silly detour into strange & unnecessary sex. not to sound like the internet purity police but the phrase “Schwarzenegger dick” should be banned on every continent. jail for 1000 years

when are synopses going to stop using “satirical” and “deadpan” when they just mean that the author is too dry to write an actual apocalyptic novel so they wrote some handwavy overly meta shadow of one & called it literary fiction. boooooooo tomatoes tomatoes

Content Warnings

avilareads's review

Go to review page

reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

there were things i enjoyed about this novel (mainly its reflections on capitalism, family, and the interesting concept of the fevered) but the present tense portions of the book didn’t do much for me other than make me deeply uncomfortable.
huge trigger warning for confinement in this novel that i had no idea of beforehand!
overall, a unique book with a captivating narrator. if it wasn’t for her flashbacks and insights on society i would not have finished this one.

Content Warnings

honey_buns's review

Go to review page

dark funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

the book transitions between the present and a series of flashbacks as we follow Candace Chen through her decisions. I found that the flashbacks helped me understand Candace’s decisions and thought process. Without giving anything away I will say that it approached some dark subject matter in a light-hearted and humorous way that made this book difficult to put down.

Content Warnings