Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan

7 reviews

yaporfavor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Ableism, Sexism, and Physical abuse

Minor: Incest

rachelmaria's review

adventurous emotional funny fast-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

3.5

A great plot and very colorful characters that I really enjoyed reading about. Good pace, really great story telling with a strong sense of humor. However, the descriptions of women's bodies in this book serve as a constant reminder that this book is written by a man. Lots of casual mysogeny "people were impressed by her unwomanly capacity to boldly persue new opportunities" and there is very casual reference to rape throughout. 
I would score the first half of the book 4* and the second half 2*, as my interest started to dwindle the more cruel and capatalist Geumbok became, but then ended strong as my heart broke for Chunhui.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Ableism, and Rape

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

Disgusting ableism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Sexual content

othersociologist's review

adventurous sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Moderate: Torture, Ableism, and Rape

jayisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

First and foremost, I cannot emphasize enough that you should look at the content warnings for this book. Whale is a brutal and violent journey, and I can see why it has the reading community so divided in opinion. I was very skeptical when I was making my way through Part I. However, once I reached Part II, things really started to click and I realized what Cheon was trying to do.

Whale will make a lot more sense if you’re familiar with modern (South) Korean history. It will be a startlingly thought-provoking read as Cheon explores this history with incredible depth through his themes and characters as allegories of the brutality and violence that South Koreans have faced throughout the twentieth century. I can see why Cheon deliberately chose women as his protagonists, though I fully recognize the discomforts that come with a male writer putting female characters in horrific situations. It’s complicated, to say the least, and I’m still trying to process how I feel about all of this.

This probably isn’t the most insightful reflection, but it’s mostly because I need to sit with this book a bit longer. I will say, though, that this is the first time that I felt Cheon did wonders in addressing han throughout Whale. (I realize han is a disputed concept, with South Koreans not really thinking much of it while the Korean diaspora have made it a large part of their identity. I think it’s something well worth considering in Whale, though, when you historically contextualize it.)

I think this is one of those books that will have polarizing opinions. You’ll either find it repulsive, but others will find it brilliant. I happen to fall in the latter category, but it definitely comes with complicated feelings about the delivery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Body shaming, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Police brutality, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Torture, War, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Self harm

vb_marie's review

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

2.5

This book is unratable... I both loved and hated it. It's creative, gripping, and thought-provoking. It is also very provocative and crude, which isn't my fave. If you like Kurt Vonnegut, you might like this book. I especially recommend reading it in the view of analyzing it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Rape, Torture, Suicide, Death, Confinement, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Murder, Bullying, and Child death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Abandonment, Car accident, Excrement, Animal death, Gore, Sexual content, and Violence

purplemuskogee's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have really struggled to finish this one. It's written like a tale with many short chapters focusing on different generations of women in a family - the "old crone", the daughter with the magical scent, the daughter who is a giant... I found it well written, the translation is very smooth, but the content was incredibly disturbing and seemed gratuitous at times. There is a rape at every page or almost, murders, sexual assault of vulnerable people, and I am still not sure wbere the book was going. I found the writing interesting and the format original but it wasn't for me.

FREE ARC sent by Netgalley 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Ableism, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Fatphobia