Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Court Dancer by Kyung-sook Shin

5 reviews

singalana's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Kirjan edetessä imeydyin yhä syvemmälle tarinaan, ja lopussa olin jo aivan Yi Jinin kohtalon lumoissa. Kirja perustuu osin todellisiin tapahtumin ja henkilöihin, mutta kirjailijan mukaan kyseessä ei ole historiallinen romaani. Teosta voitaisiin pitää rakkausromaanina, mutta ei ehkä perinteisessä mielessä.

Kirja sijoittuu 1880-luvun loppupuolelle, ja kertoo Korealaisesta naisesta nimeltä Yi Jin. Jin on keisarillisen palatsin hovitanssija, johon ranskalainen diplomaatti rakastuu silmittömästi ja haluaa viedä tämän mukanaan Ranskaan.

Kirjassa on lumoavaa kuvausta koreasta, ja hyvin kaunista, soljuvaa kieltä. Kirjan hahmot tuntuvat aluksi ehkä hieman etäisiltä, ennen kun heitä oppii tuntemaan paremmin. Etenkin korealaiset hahmot ovat pinnalta tyyniä, mutta sisimmältään syviä. Kirjassa kuvataan Korean historian kannalta merkittäviä tapahtumia hahmojen näkökulmasta.

Juonipaljastuksia!

Aluksi minun oli vaikeaa päästä kirjaan sisälle, koska en tuntenut Victorin ja Jinin välistä kipinää. Tapahtumien edetessä käy ilmeiseksi, että Victor rakasti Jiniä ehkä enemmän keräilyesineenä kuin ihmisenä. Eikä Jin todellisuudessa rakastanut todellista Ranskaa, vaan sitä kiiltokuvaa mikä Ranskasta annettiin. Jin rakasti Koreaa ja niitä ihmisiä jotka jäivät sinne hänen jälkeensä. Loppu on hyvin traaginen, koskettava ja symbolinen. Historian julmat tapahtumat henkilöityvät kirjan hahmoihin.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Violence

rieviolet's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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? No

4.0

All in all, I liked this book much more than I thought. I especially liked the discussion on such themes as orientalism, colonisation and cultural appropriation. There were also a lot of characters that really stood out and that I became quite fond of. The ending was quite a lot to take in, I wasn't really expecting anything else (given the time period and the setting), but still it was quite a lot to digest (Victor, you really were a piece of garbage till the end).

I liked the historical segments (I'm always interested in learing more about Korean history) but sometimes they felt a bit too much disconnected, not very well intergrated into the story. But, above all, there were a lot of general comments/reflections just placed in the middle of the narration that stood out a bit too much to me, they kind of disrupted the narrative flow. 

Also, I'd have done without some of the more gruesome details, for example do I really need to know about Korean execution practices?

I quite appreciated the author's note at the end in which she shared the intentions and emotions throughout her writing process. I think that it helped me to contextualize the novel and expand its meaning and scope. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Murder, Violence, Grief, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, War, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Torture, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Genocide, and Sexism

Minor: Cannibalism, Ableism, Death of parent, Vomit, Infertility, Infidelity, Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicide attempt

kcelena's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, War, and Religious bigotry

lenaricharz's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Suicide

Moderate: Colonisation, Xenophobia, Violence, Racism, and Miscarriage

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia