Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Vijf levens by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

76 reviews

unicornbanzaiiking's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Holy moly this was such a hard read but the language used...it was so beautifully written. I cried as much from the story as much as from the writing. I appreciate the author telling this story and bringing more light and attention to this forgotten period of our history and people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Xenophobia, Racism, and Rape

augustriver's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, Death, Racism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

hannahkosel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

hdubois's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A heart wrenching story, and an important tale about the atrocities committed against Chinese-Americans (and all Asian-Americans) from the moment they arrived here. Zhang is a very strong writer and Daiyu is a thoughtful and engaging protagonist. 

The conclusion leaves a lot to be desired, but in the end, that’s the point. Daiyu/Zhang are able to reclaim their story here, and while the demise is tragic and entirely avoidable in a just state, it certainly leaves you wishing for something different in this narrative when it comes to its finale. Daiyu’s clarity of personage in her final moments certainly has a sense of beauty to it though, and her growth is a deeply admirable quality that I hope he can all learn to integrate. Seeing the larger picture of your world and knowing that you can do something for your people and those closest to you, even at your own expensive is a wonderful thing. Her ability to return to Nelson is beautiful. Her commitment to shouting off Caroline is cheer-worthy. Her decision to attempt to save her friends in her moment of freedom is stunning. Every choice she makes in the final part of the story is some form of uplifting, and I only wish she could have found peace in life for a longer time.

This is the sort of book that feels appropriate and well suited to deal out as party of history courses touching on the American west and the early days of Asian immigration into America. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Racism

superlillative's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The style the book was written in made it easy to read, but the seriousness and emotional depth are still very prominent and conveyed well. Zhang does a great job in developing characters in few words. 

As an Asian American, it is sobering to read these accounts as history is meant to learn from, not something that can be cherry picked because someone does not agree or share an opinion. 

I know it’s my own personal preference, but I would have enjoyed more historical descriptions of the environment as well, but I understand that this book is meant to focus on the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Hate crime, and Rape

Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs

Minor: Kidnapping and Colonisation

martinjen98's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Sexism, Racial slurs, Murder, Bullying, Racism, Dysphoria, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Hate crime, Death, and Child abuse

moodyromancereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a fantastic job. The writing in this is beautiful, filled with rich imagery and symbolism. Please check the content warnings, as this book can be challenging in specific chapters. Nonetheless, I’m glad I could listen to the audiobook. There were a few things I was confused about, which could have been on my end since I was listening to the audiobook. I couldn’t always tell when we were in the present or the past. And as others have mentioned, I’m not sure how Daiyu managed to get away posing as a man for so long. This is a story that I will think about for a long time. It is heartbreaking, horrific, but impactful. My rating for the book is 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual assault, Murder, and Rape

shivvers91's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautifully written, a story that needed to be told. Will be gifting a copy to my niece. Worth reading through how the author decided to write this story. Historical fiction that probably happened to many Chinese women and Chinese citizens. Need to acknowledge it of part of US history too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Torture, Violence, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, and Confinement

lcg527's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Hate crime, and Excrement