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passionatereader78's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, War, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Pregnancy
Minor: Religious bigotry, Rape, Torture, Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
epruta's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence, War, Child death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Murder, and Police brutality
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Suicide
pbuzzard's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Abortion, Bullying, Child death, and Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Gore, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Trafficking, Mental illness, Murder, Hate crime, Infertility, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Violence, Body shaming, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, War, Medical trauma, Grief, Racism, Alcohol, Excrement, Physical abuse, Genocide, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Torture, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, and Gun violence
smstevens's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, War, Grief, Child death, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
caitlinriach's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Colonisation, Rape, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Emotional abuse
alisonw's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Firstly a TW: It deals with extremely heavy subjects of loss, war, corruption, all kinds of abuse, murder including all ages, all very graphically so please be warned if you think you can’t handle that.
But if you’re unsure, don’t let that put you off. This book tells the true story of the people of Jeju and all they have gone through in the last century through a fictional narrative and the graphic elements are there because they happened, reading them feels similar to the sobering feeling of going to a concentration camp has, it’s horribly sad but feels like a necessity to be able to respect and remember - in my case as a European who was taught nothing about Korea’s history, it felt so important to acknowledge and learn about these events for the first time.
The author is masterful at weaving history and fiction together, none of the fictitious story line feels forced to bring in a historical event, while at the same time the story does not steal from the history, I would actually say it helps give it more blood and feel more tangible rather than cold facts on a page about somewhere far away.
Highly highly recommend.
Graphic: Genocide, Colonisation, Grief, Pregnancy, Torture, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Child death, Death, Murder, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, and Rape
Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Confinement, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Slavery
imogenrose97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Child death, Police brutality, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, War, Death, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Genocide
Moderate: Rape
azilisssss's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Domestic abuse, Mass/school shootings, Gore, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, War, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Colonisation
Moderate: Vomit and Pregnancy
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The sections with historical, social and cultural informations were very interesting (at least for me) but I don't think that they were very well integrated into the narration and I can see how someone might find them a bit too much didactic and dry.
The historical events that are the basis for this story were brutal and certainly they cannot be brushed aside, but I still think that an author can approach the portraying of violence in a way that does not feel gratuitous (as it did for me in this case). I don't think that such a violence was well transposed on the page, at times it just felt like a list of atrocities, just for shock value.
In general, I just didn't get along much with the writing style, I found it eithera bit plain or a bit too much overdone, without much subtlety in terms of both narration and characterization.
Speaking of characters, I have to say that I struggled to connect with them, even when it came to the main character, Youngsook, there were very few moments when I felt really engrossed in her story and her feelings. I think that the characters' emotions were not so well portrayed, they were either too much melodramatic for my taste or kept hidden or just vaguely hinted at, so that I struggled as a reader to actually understand their depth and to be interested in the unfolding of the various relationships.
I wasn't so keen on the big final reveal, the events of the last chapters
just felt like too much for me, too over dramatic, too out of nowhere, just too much. The ending itself was also very abrupt.
I really liked the setting and the historical/cultural background but the story, the characters and the writing style quite dampened my enjoyment of the book.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Gun violence, War, Colonisation, Police brutality, Torture, Death, Child death, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Grief
Moderate: Rape, Ableism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Excrement, Vomit, Blood, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse
Minor: Cancer, Body shaming, and Alcoholism
amandas_bookshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, War, Blood, Child death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Excrement, Vomit, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Cancer