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georgw's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Torture, Gun violence, Grief, Child death, War, Violence, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Genocide, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide and Rape
alicekorchard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Genocide, Police brutality, Blood, Violence, Murder, Death, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
dmhl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
After you died I couldn't hold a funeral,
So these eyes that once beheld you became a shrine.
These ears that once heard your voice became a shrine.
These lungs that once inhaled your breath became a shrine.
Graphic: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Grief, War, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Confinement, Blood, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Police brutality, Body horror, Child death, and Genocide
wong_jyi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Grief, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Addiction, Body horror, Gun violence, Rape, Gore, War, Child death, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Suicide
bubbles23b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: War, Murder, Blood, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Torture, and Death
makennadykstra's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Torture, Hate crime, Medical content, Body horror, Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Police brutality, Violence, and War
ledablanca's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Beautiful prose but harrowing. This took me two months to finish. I intentionally spaced out my reading of this book because it dealt with a deeply upsetting subject matter on political violence and its aftereffects. Please check trigger warnings before reading this book.
Graphic: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Police brutality, and Violence
entre_fanon_y_weil's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Genocide
thislunarbeauty's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Genocide, Grief, Physical abuse, and Torture
danidamico's review against another edition
3.5
"Ever since the uprising began I'd felt something coursing through me, as overwhelming as any army. Conscience. The most terrifying thing in the world".
Dicho todo esto, debo decir que tuve un problema con este libro: la traducción. La propia Deborah Smith menciona la dificultad de traducir este texto y me imagino que debe ser una labor complejísima, pero la realidad es que no me gustó e impidió que pudiera adentrarme del todo en los relatos. Por momentos, pareciera que la traducción estuvo a cargo de un robot, con un uso de inglés forzado, duro, oraciones que tienen una sintaxis rara y palabras o expresiones que nunca escuché a alguien decir en mi vida. Sólo por poner un ejemplo de muchos, ¿por qué la traductora en un momento puso "get out a cigarette" en vez de "take out a cigarette" o "take a cigarette out of the bag". Se trata de cosas así que constantemente me sacaban de la historia, me distraían y me irritaban. Al ser una traducción la verdad que no puedo opinar sobre la escritura de la autora, pero dudo que sea tan forzada y dura como se lee en inglés.
Otro aspecto que bajó un poco la calidad de mi experiencia de lectura es que en algunas escenas se vuelven confusas las líneas temporales. La verdad es que hubo fragmentos que tuve que leer dos veces porque sinceramente me desorientaba quién estaba hablando y en qué momento temporal estábamos. Esto no sé si también es debido a la traducción o si es es algo que está presente en la escritura de Han Kang. Pero me hubiera gustado que las cosas fueran más claras.
"There was something infinitely noble about how his body still bore the traces of Hands that had touched ir, a tangible record of having been cared for, been valued, that made me envious and sad".
Más allá de las cosas que me molestaron o que no me convencieron, quiero subrayar la importancia enorme de este libro y realmente admiro lo que hizo Han Kang con este libro, cómo aborda hechos históricos tan terrible. Cómo encuentra palabras para narrar el terror desde cierta distancia que nunca abandona la empatía. Me pareció una buena decisión la estructura de seis relatos interconectados cómo modo de narrar la historia; los relatos se van conectando a través de un encadenamiento, con un personaje de un cuento anterior que aparece en uno siguiente, como si fuera algo que podría seguir tejiéndose eternamente.
Pienso que en los textos que documentan el terrorismo de Estado y los crímenes de lesa humanidad aparece siempre lo mismo: los familiares que buscan a sus seres queridos, que los extrañan, que piden justicia por ellos. Las conexiones humanas. Todo el horror termina siendo atravesado por el amor, por la lucha de madres, hermanos, amigos. Esa es la única luz que logra colarse por los intersticios.
"I don't have a map for whatever world lies beyond death. I don't know whether there too there are meetings and partings, whether we still have faces and voices, hearts with the capacity for joy as well as sorrow".
Graphic: Genocide, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Suicide, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Torture, and Sexual assault