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smolgalaxybrain's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
kryskross's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Excrement, Blood, Violence, Child death, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Vomit, and Suicide
shadestate's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
5.0
This book activates your senses. Visceral, sensual, the smell of garlic and blood, flowers and rot. A tragedy of small people that keeps unfolding like a destiny or a great machine, crushing, unstoppable, inescapable. Some violence is personal, some of it political. Like the smells, the interpersonal and institutional conflicts bleed together and fuel each other.
From the first page, we know the farmers' revolt of 1987 will happen, has happened, is doomed to happen. The timeskips add to this feeling. The story begins with the arrests months after the revolt. Flashbacks show the events leading up the garlic glut. Tension and anger builds. A socio-political trainwreck in slow-motion, experienced through the eyes of the front car passengers.
From the first page, we know the farmers' revolt of 1987 will happen, has happened, is doomed to happen. The timeskips add to this feeling. The story begins with the arrests months after the revolt. Flashbacks show the events leading up the garlic glut. Tension and anger builds. A socio-political trainwreck in slow-motion, experienced through the eyes of the front car passengers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Pregnancy, Child death, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual violence, Excrement, and Car accident
atalia's review
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
3.75
m_delaney's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Torture
ngnh_le's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
2.75
cocoonofbooks's review
2.0
I had a hard time getting through this book despite its relatively short length. Everything is told out of order, which can work to good effect if done well and with a purpose, but it mostly just confused me. The plot seemed like a way to string together moments of shock value — Gao Yang having to drink his own urine (which happened three different times in his life and was revisited again and again), open wounds bleeding and festering, people laying violent blows on one another, etc. I did not find myself very engaged with or sympathetic to the characters, and it's just as well with such a Hamlet ending. I understand this was historical fiction, but I don't feel like I came away with a great understanding of this period of history or what exactly the government did to the garlic farmers. It may be a translation issue or a cultural difference, but I did not enjoy or appreciate this book very much.
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