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daniellekat's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Grief, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Body shaming
Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, Abortion, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Hate crime
snipinfool's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse
flowchelle's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Medical content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, and Body horror
rieviolet's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the way food was a focal point throughout the narration, how its connection with one's cultural heritage was so strongly and beautifully illustrated. It really prompted me to reflect on the food I've grown up with and its significance for my own selfhood.
The linguist in me also really appreciated the lovely reflections on language and on a mother tongue.
The writing style was just *chef's kiss*. There were so many passages that I kept re-reading thinking to myself "How could she manage to capture this feeling with such poignant words and turn of phrases?", I was just floored.
My mother had struggled to understand me just as I struggled to understand her. Thrown as we were on opposite sides of a fault line - generational, cultural, linguistic - we wandered lost without a reference point, each of us unintelligible to the other's expectations, until these past few years when we had just begun to unlock the mystery, carve the psychic space to accommodate each other, appreciate the differences between us, linger in our refracted commonalities. Then, what would have been the most fruitful years of understanding were cut violently short, and I was left alone to decipher the secrets of inheritance without its key.
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Car accident, Racism, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Excrement, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Vomit
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Addiction, Abortion, and Rape
stephanieridiculous's review against another edition
4.0
A lovely exploration of identity, family, culture, and grief. While this book is heavy I didn't find it emotionally taxing. It's uplifting in the midst of it's weight, and Zauner is an exceptional story teller.
Aside from the primary topic of the book, parental death by cancer (which can get fairly graphic, but in a respectful way), the content warnings are somewhat mild. One very brief reference to past rape, references to drug/alcohol abuse, DV, occasional swear words, and this is the weirdest: there is one part where she compares something she's cooking to the consistency of male bodily fluids. Two references within a page of each other, so over quickly - but I won't be able to not think about that if I ever eat that food! I did put emotional abuse as a graphic content warning, but I suspect that's very cultural. The way Zauner explains her mother treated her would definitely classify as emotional abuse where I live, but I understand that's very different around the globe.
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical content, Cancer, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Car accident, Cursing, Addiction, Abortion, Alcoholism, Excrement, Vomit, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape
alyx's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Vomit, Body horror, Chronic illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Excrement, Cancer, Blood, Cursing, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug use, and Mental illness
Minor: Racism, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Abortion
roxy_reads_romance's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Death, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Medical content
prakriti_archit's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness
kitausu's review against another edition
I didn't stop this book because there was anything wrong with the book. The writing is visceral and powerful as is the story. I'm just not mentally in a place to read it.
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, Cancer, Grief, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Abortion, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts
beansbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Cancer
Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Vomit, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, and Car accident