Scan barcode
azzledale's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
harrowing babes x
tsundokuu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape, Medical content, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Eating disorder
elliesd7fc2's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
emm_ro's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
4.0
This was a doozy. I'm still not sure how I feel about it and I've been ruminating all day.
Basically, Yeong-Hye is a mentally ill woman who spirals further into her psychosis after she stops eating meat. And for some reason the fact that she doesn't eat meat has some pretty steep repercussions for the people around her.
Something to note is that this book masquerades as something it's not. The description presents the book as some kind of psychological horror/thriller. In reality it's just a character study. We see the affects of Yeong-Hye's illness on her husband, her brother-in-law and her sister over a couple years. It's really engrossing because technically none of these characters is healthy, but on the outside you would think that they are. Yeong-Hye is a catalyst for some of their behaviors yet the entire novel really makes you question whether or not it all was inevitable regardless of her.
That being said, there were some weaknesses that kept this from being 5 stars. While the choice to just barely touch on Yeong-Hye's POV was an implicit indication of the very little control Yeong-Hye had over her own life (she wasn't even allowed to tell her own story) there was a randomness to the POV choices that I didn't like. The husband made sense, but following the brother in law and sister did not as there was no particular connection to Yeong-Hye. Jumping POVs was also confusing after the first segment because it was never especially clear what kind of timeline we were working with. Years pass over the course of the novel, but it's really difficult to tell within the segments when events would be happening and how they related to past events.
The atmosphere of the novel is really murky, and while it's not super thrilling it does have an edge of suspense. But, that does mean that there was a lot that would be thrown out there that got no development at all. It added to my idea of what was going on, but nothing was ever confirmed. It's a minor gripe, as it did keep me thinking, but there were so many cool threads that I wish we could have followed one or further explained something. I think it would have really helped to have a small part actually be devoted to Yeong-Hye later on to really see what she was feeling.
Overall, really good book. A nice quick read if you're into introspection.
Basically, Yeong-Hye is a mentally ill woman who spirals further into her psychosis after she stops eating meat. And for some reason the fact that she doesn't eat meat has some pretty steep repercussions for the people around her.
Something to note is that this book masquerades as something it's not. The description presents the book as some kind of psychological horror/thriller. In reality it's just a character study. We see the affects of Yeong-Hye's illness on her husband, her brother-in-law and her sister over a couple years. It's really engrossing because technically none of these characters is healthy, but on the outside you would think that they are. Yeong-Hye is a catalyst for some of their behaviors yet the entire novel really makes you question whether or not it all was inevitable regardless of her.
That being said, there were some weaknesses that kept this from being 5 stars. While the choice to just barely touch on Yeong-Hye's POV was an implicit indication of the very little control Yeong-Hye had over her own life (she wasn't even allowed to tell her own story) there was a randomness to the POV choices that I didn't like. The husband made sense, but following the brother in law and sister did not as there was no particular connection to Yeong-Hye. Jumping POVs was also confusing after the first segment because it was never especially clear what kind of timeline we were working with. Years pass over the course of the novel, but it's really difficult to tell within the segments when events would be happening and how they related to past events.
The atmosphere of the novel is really murky, and while it's not super thrilling it does have an edge of suspense. But, that does mean that there was a lot that would be thrown out there that got no development at all. It added to my idea of what was going on, but nothing was ever confirmed. It's a minor gripe, as it did keep me thinking, but there were so many cool threads that I wish we could have followed one or further explained something. I think it would have really helped to have a small part actually be devoted to Yeong-Hye later on to really see what she was feeling.
Overall, really good book. A nice quick read if you're into introspection.
indigolenom's review against another edition
4.0
Uno de los libros más raros que he leído. Es como una de esas películas que no entiendes que está pasando pero sientes que hay algún concepto más al fondo
Impresionante la actitud de los personajes, siento que es más una reflexión de la libertad de expresión de una persona y como nuestros conocidos y seres queridos reprimen esas decisiones bajo sus propios conceptos de lo que "es correcto", un personaje principal muy vulnerable (tanto que nisiquiera se puede leer la historia desde su punto de vista, siempre es como los demás la veían pero nunca como ella se sentia)
No es el mejor libro que he leído pero si uno muy interesante. No se si lo volvería a leer tal vez después lo entienda diferente.
Impresionante la actitud de los personajes, siento que es más una reflexión de la libertad de expresión de una persona y como nuestros conocidos y seres queridos reprimen esas decisiones bajo sus propios conceptos de lo que "es correcto", un personaje principal muy vulnerable (tanto que nisiquiera se puede leer la historia desde su punto de vista, siempre es como los demás la veían pero nunca como ella se sentia)
No es el mejor libro que he leído pero si uno muy interesante. No se si lo volvería a leer tal vez después lo entienda diferente.
davirodcz's review against another edition
3.0
Vou ficar em cima do muro com relação à nota desse livro por ele ter me causado sentimentos conflitantes. Não sei se gostei e também não sei se não gostei...
heartofhorrors's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gore, Physical abuse, and Rape
cdogg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25