Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

17 reviews

cider_lover's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This collection of stories was simply too weird for me. I like to think that I enjoy things that are strange and off-putting but many of these stories just grossed me out with no (that I could tell) purpose. The suffering of the characters felt like it was pointless, which I know in some cases works to get a message across, but it didn't quite work because of the lack of connection with the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Physical abuse, and Incest

Moderate: Slavery, Torture, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Rape

Minor: Murder

astrangewind's review against another edition

challenging dark tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

I finished this book in two sittings - one for the first story, and then the entire rest of the book in the second. It was truly unputdownable, but I truly cannot tell if this was out of genuine enjoyment, or out of the desire to get it over with as quickly as possible. 

The first two stories are the extremes of horror - the gross, the bloody, the fucked up. The rest of the stories are a bit more mellow, which is more suited to my tastes, but I found that I didn't really click with most of them, or understand the ending. (Although I have been known in the past to miss some crucial detail or other. Short stories aren't generally my thing.) Either way, it was a decently quick read, and I did enjoy it, although not to the extent that others have, although I don't think that's the fault of either the author or the translator. 

I dunno, I just feel like horror story collections feel the need to cram in every possible trigger they possibly can, every possible gross or bloody thing, to make a compelling story. And that is frankly untrue, and it feels a lot like shock value when it does happen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Vomit, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, and Suicide

Minor: Rape, War, Colonisation, and Incest

kaimju's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.75

Opisem tej książki powinna być długa lista trigger warnings. A tak poza tym, Bora Chung zdecydowanie umie w opowiadania.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gore

Moderate: Miscarriage, Body horror, Excrement, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Car accident

sauvageloup's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

I whistled through these very disturbing little stories. 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

rlhreads's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

A hard to read boot at times - definitely one of the most messed up books I’ve ever read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Mental illness, Death, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Rape, Slavery, Cannibalism, Child death, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Animal death, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Body horror, and Vomit

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

lovelymisanthrope's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received this in a book subscription box and was very excited to pick it up because it had already been on my radar.
"Cursed Bunny" is a collection of short stories that are both haunting and creepy. This was such an excellent way for me to kick off October.
Overall, I was really captivated by most of the stories, and I was impressed with the writing. The first short story, "The Head", has haunted me since I read it. In this tale, a woman is haunted by her own waste. The story is told in graphic detail, and it left me slightly concerned about what I may be flushing down the toilet. This was also such a bold choice for the first short story. "The Head" really set the tone for the weird horror that was about to follow.
I really appreciated that each story had its moment, and each story was fleshed out enough that I felt like I was reading a collection of novellas. Additionally, I appreciated that all of the stories were different, but equally unsettling. I had the same feeling of "what the hell am I reading" throughout the entire book, all while I got to enjoy different stories.
Overall, I really enjoyed these stories and I look forward to trying to find something similar in tone to read in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Blood

dandelionsanddragons's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

this book was amazing and a few of these stories will definitely stay with me for a long time

the head: 5/5 haunting. amazing.

the embodiment: 5/5 body horror, so creepy 

cursed bunny: 4.5/5 great story about capitalism

the frozen finger: 3/5 harder to understand but atmosphere is great

snare: 4.5/5 like a fairytale

goodbye, my love: 4/5 most realistic one 

scars: 2.5/5 dragged out too much 

home sweet home: 4/5 quite realistic and eerie

ruler of the winds and sands: 3.5/5 felt like something was missing, but read like a fairytale 

reunion: 4.5/5 heartbreaking

“no one asked us, when we were still nameless
whether we wanted to live or not 
now i wander the big city alone
looking in doors and windows 
waiting and waiting for something…”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Suicide, Vomit, Car accident, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Self harm, Trafficking, and Murder

laffi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Vomit, Physical abuse, and War

paziicrm's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

You gotta like and be open to a lot of genres to truly enjoy this book, magic realism, fantasy, fables. You have to be okay to not have all the answers cause if you don't, you'll end up like me disappointed. Wanting more or feeling like there was space for a few more pages to give a more concise closure.

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Content Warnings

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