Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Old Woman with the Knife

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo

23 reviews

jukietoss's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely loved this quirky, literary mystery/thriller. The translation was gorgeous, with a beautiful rhythm and cadence in its writing. The pacing of the book was so well-executed, and I was pulled in by the story and characters. I appreciated that we had a primary protagonist whom I found compelling and complex but also had omniscience into other characters in a way that advanced the plot and added texture to the story.

This was a book about so many things, and I love how they were all woven together--it was a story of aging, of society's treatment and expectations of the elderly, of the parts of us that soften and long for connection even when we've tried to train ourselves out of that. It's a story of discipline, of revenge, of skill/mastery and of a gradual diminution of mastery as our bodies and minds progress. It's a story of relationships despite one's best efforts to avoid them.

This book was beautiful, compelling, and full of heart in really unusual ways. I really enjoyed not knowing where we were headed and just giving in to the ride. The whole thing kept me surprised and drawn in.

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mandkips's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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julieshuff's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.75

I liked this book more after discussing it with my friend who recommended it. How many books are there that focus on a senior (citizen) female assassin, and the disrespect from younger colleagues that come with aging. I think it’s intentional (rather than the translation) that the emotions of the main character seem a bit stunted, which also makes sense based on her background. I think that Bullfight might be the personification of patriarchy. That said, we never get full resolution on her final assignment/battle-the timeline just kind of jumps ahead.

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charliefern's review

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dark emotional fast-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

4.0

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to like this more. I found that there would be times I would get yanked out of the story by the feeling of "oh yeah, this is a translation" where things just didn't quite flow right. I also found the characters to be too flat for me. The main character isn't actually very likable, although she is at least better than the villain who is awful and has motivations that don't even make much sense.

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kelly04's review

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dark emotional 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? No

3.75

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bookwitchva's review

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I liked reading this own voices book from Korea. I’ve heard very high reviews, and I did like the book but I didn’t find it as gripping and fast-paced as I would have expected a book about a hit-person to be. It was pretty dark, and sometimes the descriptions of violence were a bit more detailed than I wanted to envision. The ending was predictable as well.

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