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paulap's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was a ride. It mainly focuses on two women, Geumbok is the mother and Chunhui is the daughter. We follow first the mothers story from running away from her town to establishing herself as a business woman. Then, we follow Chunhui, growing up being different and learning the family business of making bricks, up to her last days. It also has glimpses on how the Korean society was changing throughout all this time.
This book also makes a commentary about misogyny by exaggerating and almost twisting it to a point in which it almost felt non-sensical. I am not sure how successful it was at that, although I fond some of the commentary quite poignant. Other times, it was just too brutal to a point in which it was not furthering anything and I wanted to stop reading.
In terms of the writing style, it feels very whimsical and detached. We do not get to know the thoughts of the characters in detail (I think intentionally), and therefore the book does not try to make an emotional connection with the reader by sharing feelings and thoughts. There is a lot of foreshadowing throughout the book as well, which sometimes worked but sometimes didn't. There is also touches of magical realism, which increase the feeling that it almost reads like a fairy tale. And mostly, the book was violent and brutal from beginning to end, so if that is not your thing, maybe stay away from it.
This book also makes a commentary about misogyny by exaggerating and almost twisting it to a point in which it almost felt non-sensical. I am not sure how successful it was at that, although I fond some of the commentary quite poignant. Other times, it was just too brutal to a point in which it was not furthering anything and I wanted to stop reading.
In terms of the writing style, it feels very whimsical and detached. We do not get to know the thoughts of the characters in detail (I think intentionally), and therefore the book does not try to make an emotional connection with the reader by sharing feelings and thoughts. There is a lot of foreshadowing throughout the book as well, which sometimes worked but sometimes didn't. There is also touches of magical realism, which increase the feeling that it almost reads like a fairy tale. And mostly, the book was violent and brutal from beginning to end, so if that is not your thing, maybe stay away from it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Death, Child death, Violence, Animal death, and Rape
clemist's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Magical realism good. Excessive sexual assault bad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, 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
FREE ARC sent by Netgalley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Ableism, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Fatphobia
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