Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

10 reviews

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. 

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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.

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

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark reflective

5.0

The stories held within Cursed Bunny are blisteringly cruel and terribly beautiful. They are horrors, myths and fairytales that reflect the sharp teeth of grief and the scars of survival. I have never read anything quite like these stories and could never imagine one similar to them if I tried. Chung is a brilliant writer and inventor of fables, and I look forward to reading more of her work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Incest, Suicide, and Child abuse

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

linalina's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

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

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Gore, Violence, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Child abuse, Confinement, Pregnancy, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Car accident, Self harm, War, Excrement, Grief, Animal death, Gaslighting, Torture, Suicide, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

Minor: Ableism, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Incest, Vomit, Sexual content, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity

Menstruation ("The Head," "The Embodiment").

gloomiko's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

“Cursed Bunny” es una colección de diez historias cortas supernaturales de horror. Este libro es el debut literario de Bora Chung, una escritora coreana que definitivamente voy a estar hojeando porque quiero leer más de ella. Las historias son muy variadas, aunque todas siguen más o menos la misma fórmula, y al final te acabas esperando algún plot twist. Mis favoritas, en orden:

★★★★★ “The Head.”,

muy buen comienzo, da mucha ansiedad y claustrofobia. No voy a volver a ver mi baño de la misma manera.

★★★★★ “Scars.”,

creo que es mi favorita especialmente porque el comienzo es una buena analogía de traumas infantiles. Es el personaje con el que más he empatizado y la única historia en la que he llorado. Me habría gustado que tuviera un final feliz :(

★★★★☆ “Cursed Bunny.”

muy interesante pero no he llegado a empatizar con la mayoría de personajes. Es una de las más turbias y creo que tiene una buena moraleja. Me ha llamado la atención la frase “when we make our cursed fetishes, it’s important that they’re pretty”.

★★★★☆ “The Embodiment.”

muy turbia, provoca mucha ansiedad. Como mujer, he tenido un nudo en el estómago durante todo el capítulo, es totalmente el tipo de pesadilla que tendría.

★★★★☆ “Reunion.”,

triste desde principio a fin, buen relato para acabar el libro con un nudo en la garganta.b

★★★☆☆ “Snare.”

abuso, incesto… es interesante el tema de la maldición y cómo la codicia vuelve a las personas “inhumanas”.

★★☆☆☆ “The Frozen Finger.”

me dio bastante ansiedad y claustrofobia el imaginarme a la chica hundiéndose en el barro atrapada en su coche sin poder ver nada, pero se pierde un poco entre los otros relatos. También me dio penita, lo último que escucha antes de morir son reproches de la voz que creía que la iba a salvar.

★★☆☆☆ “Goodbye, My Love.”,

también triste, me recuerda un poco a “The Head”. El tema de los IAs uniéndose es interesante pero un poco típico. Además la mc es lesbiana, creo?

★☆☆☆☆ “Ruler of the Winds and Sands.”,

triste, las traiciones son lo que más ansiedad me da :( me dio mucha pena lo que sufre por el príncipe. Vuelve a entrar en el tema de la codicia, pero la porción del desierto es muy larga.

★☆☆☆☆ “Home Sweet Home.”

larga, demasiados personajes sin nombres que se me iban mezclando mientras leía. El final me gustó, fue inesperado y un poco triste, pero el resto de la historia no me entró muy bien.

En general me han gustado todas las historias y me ha abierto la curiosidad por leer más historias cortas, creo que es lo que mejor me viene para lo mala que son mi atención y mi memoria. La ambientación es magnífica, turbia y claustrofóbica.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Incest and Excrement

Minor: Gaslighting

caitlindoesntread's review

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

(Short story collection (10 stories): Horror, social commentary) Read this in four days. It possibly damaged me forever?? Some of the body horror descriptions are so grotesque that I literally felt sick. However, lots of the stories were written beautifully and at each twist I found myself pausing to think about the metaphorical implications or what real-life issue it could have been representing against the backdrop of a strange, scary, magical and suspenseful reality. Some of the stories I really enjoyed are "The Head, "The embodiment", The Frozen Finger" and "Snare". These were short, to the point and gripped me throughout the story. Some stories that I really did not enjoy were "Goodbye, my love", "Home sweet home" and "Ruler of the winds and sands. For the last two that I mentioned, I literally had no clue what was going on, especially in "Ruler of the winds and sands" and they were long, boring and repetitive. I neither liked nor disliked "Cursed bunny", "Scars" and "The reunion". Although "Scars" was WAY too long.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Drug use, Infidelity, and War