Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Walking Practice

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Walking Practice by Dolki Min

10 reviews

melliedm's review against another edition

dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

What's all this nonsense, you say? Just think of it as the ramblings of a life-form pretending to be human. It won't be that important to you, dear reader.

A strange, intensely evocative novel about the sensation of being alien to the society you live in, discussing concepts like masking, isolation, anxiety, and desire in a package equally relatable and…well, alien.

Maybe it’s just the autistic, chronically ill, queer in me—but yeah. This one hit home.

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ethnographchic's review

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challenging dark funny fast-paced

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? No

4.25

This book is disgusting in a way that only queer science fiction can manage to be. Its vivid descriptions of body horror made me physically recoil, at the same time I found myself delighting in some moments of the narrator playing jury judge and executioner. There are a lot of angles this book can be examined and it is if nothing else very interesting. I do think some of the poignancy and existential musings does get overshadowed by the ridiculously vivid depravity. Personally I don’t really like sci-fi or super violent books, but despite that I got through this very quickly and would recommend to anyone who wants something a little off beat

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applesodaperson's review

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dark reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

This book came highly recommended, and yeah it lived up to the hype. It was such an interesting commentary of society within such a weird framework. I loved the part talking about gender assumptions. And I also loved the part about how people judge those that don't walk the same as them, which was such a good commentary about ableism, accessibility, and the way society treats those with disabilities. I also highly highly recommend listening to this book in an audiobook form. The narrator did such a good job and really makes it feel like an alien is saying all the things in the book.
Listened to on Libby.

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kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

buying this in print both because it was lovely and because my ereader did not do the art justice!

wow! what can i say. such a fresh premise, the narrative voice was so refreshing, i don’t think I’ve ever read a book anything like this. if you have, PLEASE recommend! favorite book this year i think

unapologetically queer and making very interesting points about who this world is designed for both physically and in a more abstract sense. definitely graphic and gory but that takes a surprising backseat to the emotions of the main char. idk this book was just great and a lovely opener for Halloween month.

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katieconrad's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-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

4.0

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spacecars's review

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.25

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storyorc's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There is a sick delight in reading something that actually manages to express the depths of how disgusting it can feel to wear a human body: "I feel like a food waste bag dripping its rotten soup." One of many visceral descriptions. The typography tricks are a great way to echo the melting human form too.

Mumu, the grotesque alien predator, is absurdly relatable - the perpetual battle to 'disarm' the body so it behaves, pride in hard-earned tips and tricks for presenting feminine, even just the slow torture of existing on a subway each day. It was brave of Min to put this out here so nakedly.

The ending is

inevitable and heart-rendering

but also came at the right moment for the novella not to overstay its welcome.

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sleaterkenneth's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced

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

5.0

gender.............

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pao_reynard's review

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challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.5

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nini23's review against another edition

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3.25

Masquerading as a SF book, Walking Practice is really about society's intolerant attitudes towards those who don't conform to the norm. My ebook edition released by HarperVia (14 March 2023) and translated by Victoria Caudle notes that it was originally published as Bohaeng Yeonseup in Korean in 2022 (Eunhaeng Namu Publishing Co., South Korea). Not sure what the Hangul title is.

Mumu whose spaceship has crashed on earth and been stuck here for more than a decade has to expand great energy to look and act like a human. Walking, taking public transport, stairs especially are extremely onerous. There are illustrations in the book done by Dolki Min to show the true form of Mumu. Mumu has discovered that humans seem to be their most suitable food and hunting via sexual online app hookups the most efficient way to have a continuous food supply.

The physical visceral descriptions of sex, gore and violence underscore the dynamics of predator and prey, the vulnerability of those who are outcasts, exploited. The empath reader in me could not help reacting to the pain of alienation and bullying in Dolki Min's writing. The parallels are not subtle, such as Mumu observing how humans slot gender with a glance and the acceptable confines of behaviour and demeanor, especially for female humans. Some do require context such as Mumu feeling under surveillance with cameras everywhere, I think this is referring to the scandals of spycams in South Korean female public washrooms (https://m.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200928000778) and the blackmailing of South Korean females with nude photos and sextapes taken without permission. A few important scenes take place in public washrooms (an assault at a public park too) and this is significant imo.

Who is truly monstrous?

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