Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

17 reviews

sarahb919's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This book stabs you in the chest repeatedly. It’s very good and I recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual assault, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Misogyny, Addiction, Domestic abuse, War, Sexual violence, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Ableism, Terminal illness, Violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Colonisation, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

materiality's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, War, and Racism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

andreeadicu's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Pregnancy, War, Trafficking, Xenophobia, and Colonisation

juliloops's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

One of the most poignant novels about Asian history I have read. The characters are precisely, delicately, and humanly crafted, and they touched me with the sincerity of the ancestors I never knew. Truly a brilliant literary debut by Juhea Kim, I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, War, Racism, Violence, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Addiction

Minor: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

jessicareynolds20's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Death, Grief, Racism, Misogyny, and Abortion

Minor: Infertility and Addiction

tiredjulia's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Rape, and Racism

applezing's review

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking

mahaofhyrule's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, War, Rape, Sexual assault, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexism and Death

Minor: Infidelity and Adult/minor relationship

maidinnah's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

Epic yet intimate, Beasts of a Little Land beautifully captures a very specific type of melancholy, one that comes from the passage of time and the tides of change, doing so with a vivid cast of characters surviving through tumultuous early 1900s Korea. Fates intertwine across socio-political divides and relationships ebb, flow, fall apart, and come back together in ways that both devastated and moved me to tears. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy, Addiction, and Confinement

maecave15's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this book but it didn't enthrall me. The historical setting of the Korean Independence Movement was unique and a large part of why I picked up this book, as I really enjoy historical fiction novels from all cultures and time period. The story, with its many side characters, was a little hard to keep track of at times but it still captured my attention through to the end.

The lives of Jade and Jungho were  interesting and the friendship they had through the years was a deep bond. This is the Korean concept of inyeon - ties that bind people throughout their lives, with the strongest being husband/wife and parent/child. Although most marriages in this book are purely for the purpose of making children and going with the idea that one has to make a "good" marriage, which may be due to the culture and time period. Some of the parents seemed to love their children at least, but a lot of the romantic relationships in this story are superficial. 
I think my favorite character was Luna though, and I wish she got more page time. I would definitely read a book that was just about her life story.

The format and writing style of this story reminds me a little bit of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief and Classism

Minor: Death, Infertility, Racism, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Sexual content, War, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Violence