Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

2 reviews

corriejn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

I checked out this book based on a recommendation, and because I'd heard of the haenyeo before and was interested in learning more. Clearly I didn't look much into the details of the book beforehand, as I started it expecting nonfiction-- when it was apparent it was a novel, that was fine and I just adjusted that expectation. The story is still very informative about the lives and traditions of the Korean women sea-divers. What I wish I had realized beforehand, though, is that the book covers much of mid-19th-century Korean history and includes some really graphic and traumatic descriptions of atrocities committed during occupation and wartime (such content is mainly in the latter half of the book). It is still a powerful and artfully told story, but do be aware of that going in, and don't pick this one up if you're looking for a light read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, War, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Genocide, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Medical content, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

sarah984's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this novel a lot. It was full of interesting historical and cultural details of a location and period that I didn't know much about beforehand but in an easily understandable way. It definitely felt like it was written with respect and love for the real people of Jeju.

The overarching story about forgiveness and seeing other people's perspectives was good but it was also very similar to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by the same author, which was kind of weird for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Child death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking