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aexileigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
rieviolet'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? Yes
3.0
There were just too many characters, especially given that the book already covers a very long period of time and many generations of a family. I really think that some characters were just unnecessary additions and we could have done without their perspectives, so that more space could be given to the main ones. All the jumping between so many different points of view just made it hard to become invested.
Moreover, very big and even traumatic events are just briefly explored or worse just mentioned in passing. This character died, this one entered a relationship , and so-and-so did that, well good for them, am I supposed to care? There is no groundwork, how can a reader get attached to these people and their stories when you as an author have given them so little? Well there was time to go on and on about George Elliot's novels but no time to delve into a main character' emotions, I guess.
I was just not a fan of how the author portrayed the characters, if there isn't a good handling of their depictions then the story just turns into an over-the-top soap opera.
I found interesting the setting and the overall theme (exploring the lives of Korean people and their descendants living in Japan) but I was not that impressed with the execution itself.
For its length, the book is quite easy to get through, the chapters are not too long, the pace is quite fast and the narrative style is readable enough. Still, the writing style is nothing much to talk about, overall it's a bit too much dry and matter-of-fact for my taste.
All in all, the premise sounded good but the book was a disappointment for me and the three-star rating is basically only for the first section, the rest I'm wilfully choosing to ignore.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicide, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
oatmilkie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation
stvalentine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Blood, Car accident, Alcohol, and Colonisation
weswillison's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
lotstannard'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
4.0
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
readingwithcoffee'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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
scifi_rat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Prose: 4.5 ★
Pace: 4 ★
Concept/Execution: 4.5 ★/5 ★
Characters: 5 ★
Worldbuilding: 5 ★
Ending: 4 ★
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
ok7a's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Incest and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Lesbophobia
kalmia31's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Deportation
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Infertility, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts