Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur

21 reviews

biojesspj's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Racism

Minor: Child death

The main character has an imaginary friend that may be evidence of psychosis.

shannabanana6's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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? Yes

3.5

It started slow and was pretty tough to get into but once they introduced Oskar to the story I really enjoyed it, he was probably my favorite character honestly. It was hard to like any of the characters in the main family. There was also a lot of childhood and generational trauma to get through which didn't make getting into the book easier at all but it was written from an honest perspective.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Grief, Child abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

cviii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

5aru's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Racism, and Mental illness

Moderate: Child abuse, War, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Miscarriage

hey_evelina's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Alcohol, Drug use, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

ka_cam's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

A peculiar book weaving together folklore, physics, psychology, and more. Major themes of trauma, immigration (side story on international adoption), racial and gender identity and oppression, mental illness, faith, and work in the sciences woven into a tale of mothers and daughters. I felt the many different threads could have been better woven together and the 3rd quarter of the book dragged on unnecessarily, in part due to the sometimes overly self conscious writing. All in all an interesting but not mind blowing read 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: War

emzireads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Racism

lawralthelibrarian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Racism

Moderate: Child death and Domestic abuse

neenzreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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? Yes

5.0

Magical realism at its finest. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Family, mental health and Korean immigration in the US and Europe are explored through the perspective of experimental physicist Elsa Park. 

I loved how the author wasn't afraid to weave in various fields of study throughout the story. Physics, Korean & Norse literature are often used to draw comparisons to Elsa's current state of mind. As Elsa travels across the globe (Antarctica, Sweden and California), she realizes she can't run from her past and the past of her family. She must face *her* reality. Juxtaposed with the disturbing relevance of racism globally, Elsa's journey to find peace is turbulent and complicated. 

Elsa'a brash sense of humor and physics expertise make her a fascinating character. Character development is so strong in this story, and the ending is beautifully done. I can't recommend this book enough. 

TW: physical/verbal abuse, mental illness, racism, suicidal thoughts
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

voidboi's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Diving deep into Korean folklore, particle physics, intercultural adoption and immigration, and the merging of reality, mental illness, and the supernatural, Folklorn follows Elsa Park as she confronts her family's history, her identity, and most importantly, her complex relationship with her mother. The story manages to feel deeply true, connecting to the experience of questioning your world and yearning to understand your place in it, while still making the reader question what is real. 

Elsa begins in Antarctica, where a childhood imaginary friend/hallucination/

spirit of her mysterious lost sister

begins to visit her again, and Elsa hears news that brings her mother back into her life and her mind. Elsa is smart, abrasive, and somewhat neurotic, and the characters closest to her (her brother, father, and Oskar in particular) push each other into difficult and satisfying places, resulting in a rich emotional and relational environment which Elsa tries her best to support and escape in equal measure. The plot progresses mostly slowly, but erratically, as Elsa moves in the grey areas between logic, conjecture, and paranoia.

I loved this book. It aches with love, and fear, and anger. It longs for meaning in the unknowable, and rages against the fates prescribed to us by our cultures, families, and biologies. While there are mostly dissimilarities between my relationship with my mom and Elsa's with hers, I found that it captured the feeling of

posthumously

grappling with the entirety of your mother's humanness, everything she wants you to be, and everything that can't be between you. In the end, this story won't be for everyone, but it is raw and beautiful and weird, and I'm glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Child abuse and Sexual content