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v_verdesoto's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Moderate: Excrement, Infertility, Pregnancy, Death, Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
sauvageloup's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pros:
- they're definitely gripping, and the writing style is sparse but clear and evocative, with the descriptions being vivid.
- the stories felt self contained and satisfying overall, even as many ended in tragedy.
- the last book of short stories I read, i struggled to jump from one story to another, maybe because they were so different and by different people. this one wasnt like that at all, and i had no problem reading straight through, pretty much.
- i liked the variety in length and themes of the stories, from birth horror, to supernatural, to fantasy fairy tale and modern criticisms on feminism and capitalism. i think i mainly read very on the surface and didnt look hard at metaphors and such, a reread might help me see this more.
- I liked the sheer imagination though and how Chung makes you care for characters who often arent even given a name.
cons:
- the first two stories especially, but a lot of them overall, were pretty horrible and graphic. they did their job in making you feel things! but it reminded me too much of just horrible nightmares and intrusive thoughts and I wouldnt read those two again.
- I also felt there was generally a lack of hope in the stories, but that's personal taste I guess.
overall, well written and gripping but too horror for me and dont think I'll seek out more of her work, but I might reread this in time.
Graphic: Child abuse, Infertility, Car accident, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child death, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Bullying, Medical trauma, Sexism, Violence, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Torture, Pregnancy, Body horror, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
scifi_rat's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Death and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Medical content, Excrement, Slavery, Body horror, Grief, Violence, War, Abandonment, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Sexism, Suicide, and Vomit
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Animal death, Alcohol, Abortion, Infertility, Animal cruelty, and Infidelity
paziicrm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Gaslighting, Incest, Infertility, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexism, Torture, Body horror, Car accident, Toxic relationship, and Suicide
mermaidsherbet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Excrement, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Vomit, Torture, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Child death, Physical abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Alcohol
Minor: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infidelity, War, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Infertility, Incest, and Rape
linalina's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Medical trauma, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicide, Torture, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Violence, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Antisemitism, Dementia, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Excrement, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Abortion, Grief, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, War, Kidnapping, and Vomit
charleyroxy's review
5.0
As an important note, I will include a list of content warnings below because it is long. If you are squeamish about bodily fluids you won't make it past the first story. There is gore, abuse, animal cruelty, suicide, and more so be prepared. I loved finding this quote of Chung's from an interview about her writing to give you an idea:
"I don’t feel scared at all when writing horrific or gory scenes. I think it’s because my intention is more to imagine what an ordinary person wouldn’t do or wouldn’t react to, of that twist in the character’s behavior. Aside from making up a fun plot, you’ve got to make the unusual reactions of your characters believable if you want to convince your reader. I think the power of writing is in this ability to make the reader believe. I wanted to see how far I could push that in my writing. That’s all I was trying to do, and it’s amusing to me when people say my characters scare them."
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Pregnancy, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Incest, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual content
While there is not a miscarriage exactly, in The Embodiment there is a scene that would be quite triggering to those who have had the experience.