Reviews

The Body Papers: A Memoir by Grace Talusan

saribee's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

juliadejong's review

4.0

Some parts were brilliants, others sadly not so brilliant.
This review is breathtakingly intelligent and incredibly useful, I know.

travelbird's review

sad slow-paced

3.5

makealongstorycourt's review

5.0

Wonderful essays on immigration, cancer, and trauma - both individual and generational. Grace Talusan does an amazing job describing her own journey through all three through the eyes of her ancestors and contemporary relatives.

emmehooks's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Self harm, Blood, Colonisation, and Deportation

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

stranjerthanfiction's review

3.0

This book is the second book I've read by a Filipino author and I was really excited. I enjoyed reading through her perspective as I could relate to it being a Filipino born in the Philippines but immigrating to the US as a toddler.

Reading the chapters overall made me a bit confused as it went back and forth between time periods with no sense of a pattern and sometimes the experiences were explained more than once which made me think I re-read something I already knew.

Though, overall, the writing was really good and I enjoyed the book.

janzyface's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Medical trauma

tweetiesrf's review

5.0

A memoir that packed way more than what I was expecting-immigration, race in the U.S., abuse, mental health, family, and so much more. Raw and beautifully written.

ifeustel's review

5.0

Thank you Grace Talusan for your courageous and stunning memoire.I could not put this book down. Captivating, descriptions of place, complex emotion, reflection, and memory. Heart wrenching. I finished it with an exclamation and a deep sigh. This memoire encouraged me to vulnerably explore my own emotions and relationships with family living and passed.

jayisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

This was such a heartbreaking but beautifully written memoir in which Talusan shares her experiences of moving to the United States from the Philippines, being sexually abused by her grandfather, dealing with cancer as an adult, handling family secrets, and more. Talusan discussed her pain and trauma with such openness and delivered it honestly and with the intent to reflect. While deeply personal, there are emotional aspects of this book that I think would reach a lot of people (for example, the family dynamics that come with being an immigrant/child of immigrant parents). Feelings are complex, especially when trauma is involved, and Talusan navigated this so well.

This is by no means an easy book to get through (and really take into consideration the content warning), but it was poignantly written with much to think about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Grief

Moderate: Death