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mollylhartles's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book has f*cked me up.
Read with caution
Read with caution
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, and Incest
vixenreader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.75
The translation from Korean to English is a bit off at times. However, that does not dim the bizarre beauty of this collection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Pregnancy, Blood, Gore, Ableism, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Excrement, Sexism, Violence, Death, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Medical content, Cannibalism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Gaslighting, Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Stalking, and Suicide
Be aware that there is characters slowly dying, hunger, starvation, c-sections, blood clots, mob violence, financial struggles, mentions of Nazism, and destruction of cities and families.spookyweirdo's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A short but challenging read. Some stories are thought provoking, others are strange, still others are truly weird.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Suicide
juniper_reads_things's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Well dang.
This book is like a fresh mix of horror short stories and modern fairy tales. I liked this. It’s grotesquely traumatizing.
I’m going to list the table of contents and list my individual ratings there.
1). The Head.
Nicname: Toilet Baby.
1 star rating, 9/10 for traumatizing.
It was gross, I hated it. I really love the author’s writing style though. This was one of the tales that felt like a modern fairy tale, because something weird was happening, the woman told her family about it and they didn’t think she was insane.
2). The Embodiment.
Nicname: blood clot birth control.
3 star rating, 1000/10 for traumatizing.
Woman takes 6 months of birth control, finds herself pregnant because she took birth control…wrong? This is a perfect story to describe what it’s like to be a woman. You’re trying your best, but it’s not working and somehow you’re single handedly ruining everything around you.
3). Cursed Bunny.
Nicname: none
3 stars, 3/10 trauma.
I didn’t have a made up title for this one, it was pretty memorable, if not super remarkable/traumatic. This one was a little predictable and wasn’t what I would expect from the title story in a book of traumatizing stories.
4). The Frozen Finger.
Nicname: swamp crash.
10/10 stars, 0/10 for traumatizing.
This is my perfect horror story. Didn’t see where it was going, dramatic reveal, scary times for me. This one was probably my favorite.
5). Snare
Nicname: animal/child abuse for gold
4 stars, 10/10 traumatized.
This was another one that felt like a modern fairy tale for me, in terms of animal abuse and child abuse. It’s there, it’s awful, but the author doesn’t dwell on it. Feels like a brothers grim tale.
6). Goodbye, my Love
Nicname: i love robots
2 stars, 5/10 traumatic.
Traumatic ending, but I was bored during this story the most.
7). Scars
Nicname: i escaped a dragon for this??
5 stars, 7/10 trauma. This story is great, felt like another fairy tale. I loved it.
8). Home Sweet Home
Nicname: ghost building
4 stars, 3/10 traumatic.
Another great horror story, no notes, super creepy.
9). Ruler of the Winds and Sands
Nicname: the princess and the heavy lifting or all that for fucking nothing.
5 stars, 2/10 traumatic.
Another classic fairy tale vibe, i loved it, no notes.
10). Reunion.
Nicname: oh shit
3 stars, 4/10 traumatic
This story is traumatic in that it beautifully describes generational trauma, childhood trauma ans how adults cope with their own childhood trauma. This one felt personal for me, having survived some shit myself, and it felt comforting and heartbreaking all at the same time.
This book is like a fresh mix of horror short stories and modern fairy tales. I liked this. It’s grotesquely traumatizing.
I’m going to list the table of contents and list my individual ratings there.
1). The Head.
Nicname: Toilet Baby.
1 star rating, 9/10 for traumatizing.
It was gross, I hated it. I really love the author’s writing style though. This was one of the tales that felt like a modern fairy tale, because something weird was happening, the woman told her family about it and they didn’t think she was insane.
2). The Embodiment.
Nicname: blood clot birth control.
3 star rating, 1000/10 for traumatizing.
Woman takes 6 months of birth control, finds herself pregnant because she took birth control…wrong? This is a perfect story to describe what it’s like to be a woman. You’re trying your best, but it’s not working and somehow you’re single handedly ruining everything around you.
3). Cursed Bunny.
Nicname: none
3 stars, 3/10 trauma.
I didn’t have a made up title for this one, it was pretty memorable, if not super remarkable/traumatic. This one was a little predictable and wasn’t what I would expect from the title story in a book of traumatizing stories.
4). The Frozen Finger.
Nicname: swamp crash.
10/10 stars, 0/10 for traumatizing.
This is my perfect horror story. Didn’t see where it was going, dramatic reveal, scary times for me. This one was probably my favorite.
5). Snare
Nicname: animal/child abuse for gold
4 stars, 10/10 traumatized.
This was another one that felt like a modern fairy tale for me, in terms of animal abuse and child abuse. It’s there, it’s awful, but the author doesn’t dwell on it. Feels like a brothers grim tale.
6). Goodbye, my Love
Nicname: i love robots
2 stars, 5/10 traumatic.
Traumatic ending, but I was bored during this story the most.
7). Scars
Nicname: i escaped a dragon for this??
5 stars, 7/10 trauma. This story is great, felt like another fairy tale. I loved it.
8). Home Sweet Home
Nicname: ghost building
4 stars, 3/10 traumatic.
Another great horror story, no notes, super creepy.
9). Ruler of the Winds and Sands
Nicname: the princess and the heavy lifting or all that for fucking nothing.
5 stars, 2/10 traumatic.
Another classic fairy tale vibe, i loved it, no notes.
10). Reunion.
Nicname: oh shit
3 stars, 4/10 traumatic
This story is traumatic in that it beautifully describes generational trauma, childhood trauma ans how adults cope with their own childhood trauma. This one felt personal for me, having survived some shit myself, and it felt comforting and heartbreaking all at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Incest, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma
bxnnny's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
2.0
what a strange little book. some of these stories had some interesting concepts that i wish could be expanded upon while others were just silly and weird. the writing style often felt very juvenile which also sometimes made it a little hard to take seriously. a lot of it felt like some kid writing an r/nosleep story, trying too hard to make it weird and unsettling/scary. still, some of them had potential. i just don't think this was really for me though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
Moderate: Vomit and Violence
Minor: Incest
the first short story is very heavily involved with fecal matter. all stories deal with dark subject matter. there is lots of death, abuse, and animal cruelty.fox_at_the_circus's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
The short stories in this book are a really nice mix of magical realism, fantasy, scifi, horror. I enjoyed how every story brought you to its own world with its own characteristics.
The different stories all adress and discuss trauma each in their own way and metaphors and within their genre, it was a really good read. I also appreciate, that in "Reunion" the narrator actually mentions trauma and what it does/can do to people. I don't see this direct mention a lot in horror stories, and it was a nice surprise while fitting into that story well. It also was a nice conclusion to the book, summarising the theme of this book at the end.
My favourite stories of this collection are "The Frozen Finger" for it's pure horror vibes that unfold throught the story, and "Scars" for main character and the growth he goes through.
The different stories all adress and discuss trauma each in their own way and metaphors and within their genre, it was a really good read. I also appreciate, that in "Reunion" the narrator actually mentions trauma and what it does/can do to people. I don't see this direct mention a lot in horror stories, and it was a nice surprise while fitting into that story well. It also was a nice conclusion to the book, summarising the theme of this book at the end.
My favourite stories of this collection are "The Frozen Finger" for it's pure horror vibes that unfold throught the story, and "Scars" for main character and the growth he goes through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Child death, Suicide, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, and Incest
aliteracja's review against another edition
dark
reflective
- 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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Incest and Pregnancy
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.
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.
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.
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
kitplays's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
The most striking part of this collection is in its arrangement. It starts with the absurd, sometimes humorous tales about things like feces children and a cursed rabbit lamp. The last three or so stories, by comparison, were touching and heartbreaking discussions of harsh reality, loss, and loneliness. It's such a curiously good morsel of human emotion. I really enjoyed this collection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Suicide, and Physical abuse