Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

10 reviews

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

minireader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Whilst I've given many trigger warnings to this book, it is fascinating. The horrors that Jeju suffered is not entirely untouchable. It's still happening today in other countries. Its an important read and an incredibly heart wrenching story. I can't recommend it enough!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Genocide, Death, War, Torture, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Rape, Police brutality, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Death of parent

m_maria's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, War, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Death, and Genocide

Minor: Rape, Torture, and Physical abuse

emissaryorca's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

On an Island of World Peace, shouldn't those who inflicted terrible harm on others be forced to confess and atone, and not make widows and mothers pay for stone monuments?

Brutal prose, and by brutal I mean matter-of-fact; no beating around the bush here. Mixed feelings on the ending, but I don't think "rushed" is the right word. Maybe "convenient"? We would all be so lucky to be reminded of how we can move on, of what "home" or "true friendship" could have looked like and be at peace. There's something to be said about the power of a story of people, passing through time. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Grief, Rape, and Xenophobia

alexis_baldwin92's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Suicide, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Genocide, War, Sexual violence, Death, Colonisation, Child death, Rape, Violence, Racism, and Domestic abuse

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

greymalkin's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Evocative and immersive, with characters that feel like real people.  The story itself is a hard one though, with many difficult and brutal events that made me keep reading compulsively- not so much because I lost track of time but because they were so stressful and upsetting that I had to keep reading to know that all hope was not lost.   I learned so much about that area and historical incidents that I wasn't aware of, and a deeply fascinating tradition. 

The reason for the fracture in their friendship was legitimate and seeing the way that the war atrocities of others poisoned them for so long was heartbreaking.  I really felt for the characters and I was pleased that there was no "magical solution", just the everyday grace of people trying to live their lives under unspeakably difficult conditions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Xenophobia, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, War, and Child abuse

Minor: Rape

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

amandas_bookshelf's review

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

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