Reviews tagging 'War'

How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee

50 reviews

thebookfestclub's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, War, Rape, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

stabilesero's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Although this is fiction; it deals with a very real historical period of time and the agony that many women and girls had to live through and deal with throughout their lives. I loved Kevin as a character and also Wang Di, how she survived all those years against her own battles and the views of others, in particular their opinions about "comfort women."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and War

claudiatralenuvole's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Una narrazione assolutamente splendida, che riesce a raccontare la crudeltà della guerra senza però fare pornografia del dolore.
Straziante tutto ciò che ha riguardo le donne di conforto, compreso lo stigma sociale succeduto alla fine della guerra. 
Ho apprezzato il modo in cui la storia di Wang Di si interseca a quella di Kevin. I capitoli del ragazzo erano meno intensi ma comunque molto toccanti per il suo modo di raccontare il bullismo, la depressione del padre e il desiderio di rimediare.
Una lettura che mi ha commossa in più punti e che insegnando qualcosa di greve riesce allo stesso tempo a donare una conclusione liberatoria. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Terminal illness

Moderate: War and Violence

Minor: Murder

sciencechick83's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence and War

Minor: Child death

abi_dutton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, War, Death, Violence, and Rape

adelheid's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Trafficking, War, Kidnapping, and Misogyny

thelaurasaurus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This book made me so sad and angry, while also managing to contain occasional tender moments that made the misery bearable. While the treatment Wang Di received at the hands of the Japanese wasn’t exactly a surprise,

I was really upset by how she was treated upon her return, not just by her neighbours, but by her brother

. I had to take a break to sit and have a think (and a cry) when I finished. 

I liked the Kevin storyline, but I wish that it had been slightly less depressing, and also better developed. I wanted it to both counteract the horror of what I was reading about Wang Di, and also move and engage me in the same way. 

As a side note: I knew nothing about the history of Singapore, and this book provided me with a really interesting introduction to the country. I would like to read more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, War, Violence, and Blood

lynnd's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, War, and Violence

heliacentr's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, Physical abuse, and Rape

etyines's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

these are the stories that need to be told! fuck war and colonialism! 

i love the subtle nods to language here, wang di communicating with the girls in broken bits of various languages, kevin learning traditional chinese, it just adds a bit more richness and color and helps highlight how much of a melting pot singapore really is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, War, and Death of parent