Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

La isla de las mujeres del mar by Lisa See

64 reviews

kellyeweber's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape

clarke's review against another edition

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? Yes

1.0

I spent the vast majority of my time reading this being bored and wishing for it to end. Which I knew would be the case, but it was chosen for this month's book club read, and I'm fuelled by spite. There were some small parts I enjoyed (you can probably guess which), but for the most part every chapter felt like I knew opportunity for it to tell me things I don't care about. The other 1 star reviews have articulated this well enough that I'm not going to elaborate. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

epruta's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Alcohol

katyps78's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense 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

Beautiful epic historical fiction about 2 women/friends/wives/mothers and their lives.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

melbell016's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

5.0

This is a sad and heartwrenching story. The atrocities are nausea-inducing. But it is also a beautiful story of friendship, strength despite immense loss, courage, and the difficulty and pain of finding forgiveness. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer

pbuzzard's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Blood, Abortion, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and War

brogan7's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative fast-paced

4.0

I loved the beginning of this book.  I didn't understand how brutal the story it had to tell would become, and I can't say I was quite ready for it.
Also, I couldn't quite relate to the perfect friendship/turned so completely to trauma of a level so deep...I couldn't relate to either of them by then, Mi-ja and her seeming instantaneous change of heart, Young-Sook and her complete unwillingness to listen or interact with her, even if she felt betrayed. 

She had to know that Mi-ja didn't cause the massacre, and that no matter Mi-ja's failure to act, it wasn't all her fault.  And on the other side, what friend asks you to choose one of your children to save? What was that?

The book explicitly and implicitly favoured a "forgiveness" pathway that felt more like passivity than forgiveness.  The ending really pushed toward a particular interpretation, which felt imposed by non-survivors (the author? Or the cultural stereotype of the passive Asian woman?). The character of Young-Sook felt like she wanted to shatter those expectations, and for the better, but she wasn't allowed her free reign.

. Originally, when Mi-ja comes to the ceremony with Shaman Kim, what happened there was wide open for interpretation.  I thought that Shaman Kim was chastising Mi-ja by reminding her of the trauma of the day of the massacre.  She was saying the family members forgave, but they were speaking to Young-sook: they were easing her pain.  To Mi-ja, outside of it all, it seemed to me that they were showing her separateness from the massacre: she was there but not there, she walked away and washed her hands of it, they had nothing to say to her and they were showing their connection to the community, but not to her.  Mi-ja, who could not accept forgiveness anyway, would not have felt herself absolved of guilt by this.  She would have trebled in guilt, for thinking she didn't deserve their forgiveness.
When Shaman Kim reinterprets this at the end of the book, she chastises Young-Sook, she pushes her to forgive Mi-ja, and by extension their Korean attackers, but that is not what was necessarily meant by the family's statements or by Shaman Kim's words to a community member.  I thought Shaman Kim was originally enjoining Young-Sook to forgive herself, as a survivor.  This was much more interesting to me than anything about Mi-ja at that point... Mi-ja's husband could not help them, even if he wanted to, that kind of heroics is for Hollywood...he had chosen his side and Jun-Bu wasn't on it, even had they been friends, which they weren't.  Massacres don't tend well to exceptions, it's unlikely he could have saved his wife, at that point.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, and Colonisation

TW: mass killings

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!

---

Content Warnings

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

inkdrinkermal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.5

I learned a lot and it was a captivating story, but it was so horrific and upsetting, and pointlessly so in many ways. I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed it, even though it was well written and educational and held my attention. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, and War

There are several depcitions of rape and a child is brutally murdered on page. There is also a drowning that occurs on page.

entropyseeker's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

There's so much loss and grief in this book, but to be able to read about what happened on Jeju through the lens of haenyeo was touching, heartbreaking, and beautiful. Definitely read the tw though 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War