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corriejn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, War, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Genocide, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Medical content, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
elly29's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Junbu, Young-Sook's husband, seemed like a woman's fantasy of a husband.
I also didn't know about the Bukchon Massacre, or anything about Jeju Island and the struggle between insurgent and anti-communist government forces. There is a brutal scene that involves lots of things like rape, torture, murder, and child murder. (Also makes me sick at the thought that these things are happening in Ukraine.)
In the end, this is a story about diving, survival, and forgiveness. I love that the sea is a constant, a grandmother who will never leave you even when everything else has changed. I like the phrase, "To understand everything is to forgive." Using Young-Sook and her life as an example of what we should not do: may we be patient, may we ask questions, may we never assume, may we be perceptive.
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: War, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, and Torture
Minor: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit
friendofhayley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
However the historical context and events were my favorite parts of the book.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Death of parent, Suicide, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Child abuse, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts
agnesg's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: War, Colonisation, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
bwwilhelm'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
This book talks about the horrors of war, REPEATEDLY. Do with that information what you will. Specific trigger stuff in spoiler text.krisawesome's review against another edition
2.5
Although I had been warned about some of the descriptions in this book, I was still not fully prepared for how brutal some of the instances were. I’m usually fine to read those if I’m aware of them ahead of time but the end of the “Life-Giving Air” chapter (and a bit of the following one) were too much even for me. Note that I don’t blame See for including them, and I wouldn’t have even been all that surprised if I’d read them without warning - it’s not like she’d pulled punches earlier in the book either. But they’re hard to get past, is what I’m saying.
The 2008 chapters feel like they’re a little phoned in, compared to the research and effort that See obviously put into the main timeline.
Stars were earned mostly by the anthropological and historical elements, as difficult as the latter were to read about at times. It was especially fascinating to read about the haenyeo and their matrifocal society.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Excrement
Other warnings: drowning, mutilationsunpuddles's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ insightfulness
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ readability
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ plot development
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ character
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ pace
This book was both well-written and difficult to read. The story of family love and friendship were beautiful, but also heart-wrenching and the scenes of death and torture during the Korean War were horrendous. I had to stop reading and read a few other, more light-hearted books in the middle. I’m glad I finished it though. The story of the haenyeo was so interesting and I loved the theme of strong women looking after their families and controlling their destiny.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body shaming, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexism
sarah984's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The overarching story about forgiveness and seeing other people's perspectives was good but it was also very similar to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by the same author, which was kind of weird for me.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Cancer, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking