Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

13 reviews

melbell016's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

This is a sad and heartwrenching story. The atrocities are nausea-inducing. But it is also a beautiful story of friendship, strength despite immense loss, courage, and the difficulty and pain of finding forgiveness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Murder, Grief, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Death of parent, War, Genocide, and Death

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cancer

hannahfaith25's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Rape, Colonisation, and Child abuse

entropyseeker's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

There's so much loss and grief in this book, but to be able to read about what happened on Jeju through the lens of haenyeo was touching, heartbreaking, and beautiful. Definitely read the tw though 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, War, Child abuse, Murder, Colonisation, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Death, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Sexual violence, and Torture

naomi_k's review

dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Violence, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, and Torture

Moderate: Pregnancy, War, Classism, Colonisation, Medical content, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexism

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

wow this book is heavy. i did not expect this book to make me so devastated and upset. please check the content warnings!!!! my only issue with this book is the ending. i felt the ending was a bit rushed and anti-climactic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Blood, Death, Gore, Sexism, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

kibbles15's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, and Genocide

Moderate: War, Domestic abuse, Rape, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, and Sexual violence

rieviolet's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• 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

I started this book with very high expectations and maybe that wasn't a good idea because it just added to my disappointment. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

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

elly29's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring 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

4.0

A slow burn of a novel, that suddenly dissolves. I loved that it was about women divers (in Jeju, an island off of South Korea's coast). The best part of the book was the society of haenyeo -- as a woman, who works, (and who just got some scuba certification), it was a joy and delight to hear of classic gender roles turned on their head.

Junbu, Young-Sook's husband, seemed like a woman's fantasy of a husband. 

I also didn't know about the Bukchon Massacre, or anything about Jeju Island and the struggle between insurgent and anti-communist government forces. There is a brutal scene that involves lots of things like rape, torture, murder, and child murder. (Also makes me sick at the thought that these things are happening in Ukraine.)

In the end, this is a story about diving, survival, and forgiveness. I love that the sea is a constant, a grandmother who will never leave you even when everything else has changed. I like the phrase, "To understand everything is to forgive." Using Young-Sook and her life as an example of what we should not do: may we be patient, may we ask questions, may we never assume, may we be perceptive.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: War, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, and Torture

Minor: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

bwwilhelm's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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

5.0

HEED THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. This book is emotionally engaging, but I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone. It deals with war from the viewpoint of a young woman on a small island. Things get gruesome, and graphic in parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

This book talks about the horrors of war, REPEATEDLY. Do with that information what you will. Specific trigger stuff in spoiler text.

About halfway into the book, Young-sook's entire village is herded into the local school by armed police. Some villagers are tortured, and Young-sook's husband, son, and sister-in-law are killed. It is GRAPHIC. Also, near the end of the book, Mi-ja goes into semi-specific detail about everything her husband did to her. Not incredibly graphic, but still made very clear. R*pe, police violence, colonization, etc, are mentioned throughout, pretty much from the beginning of the story, but it's generally very matter-of-fact with little to no details.