Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Actos humanos by Álvaro Colomer, Mar Abad, Han Kang

198 reviews

tivvny's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Han Kang digs into the wounds left in the aftermath of the Gwangju Uprising, exploring not only the brutality and inhumanity that we are all capable of, but also the human acts of hope, courage and resilience that we can aspire to achieve. Human Acts carefully blends historical fiction and a tiny bit of speculative fiction to illuminate different voices that strive to speak the same truth, individually shaped by the unique (though also not-so-unique, highlighting the sheer number of victims of the crackdown on university and high school students during this period) experiences faced by the characters in the story. Although the time we get with each character is short, this does not detract from the impact and power of their stories - you deeply feel for the hardships experienced by the survivors (and victims) of the uprising, their anger, and their pain. The shocking revelations and unanticipated bombs characteristic of Han Kang are effective in not only emphasising the cruelty in these moments but the tragedy they invoke. I struggled with Han Kang's The Vegetarian due to the prose falling in and out of metaphors and elusive language, but Human Acts I think perfectly blends Han Kang's style with more straightforward language which helped maintain my focus and attention (this may be in part reflective of the Gwangju dialect that Han Kang integrated into some of the perspectives as noted by the translator). In short, a great pageturner that uncovers a part of history that you may not have encountered before, and though essentially an overwhelmingly dark read, it provides a sliver of hope that reflects the vicissitudes of our own humanity. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder

makennadykstra's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

panicpoet's review against another edition

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

ledablanca's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

"Is it true that human beings are fundamentally cruel? Is the experience of cruelty the only thing we share as a species? Is the dignity that we cling to nothing but self-delusion, masking from ourselves the single truth: that each one of us is capable of being reduced to an insect, a ravening beast, a lump of meat? To be degraded, slaughtered - is this the essential of humankind, one which history has confirmed as inevitable?"

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

areen's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

this was a masterpiece. the way han kang captured different kinds of people being affected by the uprising in such a vivid way was incredible. the 2nd story left me speechless.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, and Grief

chelstell's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

Very different from The Vegetarian by the same author. Not an uplifting book, but wow, I will not be forgetting it anytime soon.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Grief

insoolee's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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? N/A

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder

cyberhavok'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? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Suicide, and Death of parent

lillyll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Mass/school shootings

gokurakuji's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense

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

4.25

another book i wanted to enjoy more

i went into the book with a preconceived notion of what the structure would be like based on the summary but my prediction(?) was OFF. so i think that threw off my enjoyment.

but the horrifying knowledge that this book is based off history that i had 0 prior knowledge of (minus the name “gwangju uprising”) was frightening.

but the last chapter? it really made me come to appreciate the book as a whole.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail