Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

129 reviews

skyebird16's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Vomit, Grief, Gore, Pregnancy, Torture, Violence, Toxic friendship, Child death, Excrement, and Genocide

Moderate: Colonisation and Rape

Minor: Animal death and Alcohol

jenniecc's review

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, War, and Death of parent

laurahappily's review against another edition

emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Child death

mmorice's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Wonderful book with an interesting insight in Korean history from a woman's perspective. Loved reading about the matriarchical culture of diving in Jeju. Very intense scenes describing the war repercussions on their island.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Genocide, Body horror, Colonisation, and Child death

franzicalzelunghe's review against another edition

emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, War, Genocide, Grief, Death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, and Child death

rebeccajhart's review

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Great read that highlights strength and resilience of women and mothers. Also as a woman and mother it was very sad and hard to read at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Violence, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault

avsharp's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

A raw, tragic and wrenching story about the ties between two women being torn by historic events and the cruelty of war, as well as the darker sides of men and tradition. I learned a lot about Jeju's 20th century history, the island's cultural practices and social customs, and was really engaged by the story of Young-sook and Mi-ja, though I was a little disappointed that the main barrier to resolution was the unrelenting stubbornness of the protagonist. 

The actions of some of the characters were understandable, even if not relatable, and the bitter resolution left me feeling quite reflective and sombre about the generations of civilians - and especially women - caught up and senselessly set against each other in conflict after conflict. A tale that looks back at the trauma echoing from past events, but no doubt carries much relevance today.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, War, Torture, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Violence

markcollison's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Having read another of See’s books, I knew I would fall in love with the characters, however I was not expecting to be gut-wrenchingly torn from them. This is a brilliantly written example of just one woman’s story among the life on Jeju Island and the massacre that occurred there. The depth of the novel emerges when one realises that each resident of the island had their own story, that was just as detailed and heartbreaking as this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, War, and Xenophobia

mikeiswhere's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-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

This book was significantly more disturbing than I expected it would be after reading the blurb, but I am glad to have learned from it. A very powerful and emotional book which had me much more invested than I expected.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Torture, Child death, and Death