Reviews with content warning for Suicide - I Have the Right to Destroy Myself

Bleak and I loved it. Sometimes I find Korean fiction a little too obscure - like I’m almost getting it but I can’t quite grasp the full extent. Not so with I Have the Right to Destroy Myself, but it’s also not too on-the-nose. I loved the set up, a mysterious man on the hunt for clients - although I’ll not spoil the services he provides. Then there are stories within the main frame, stories of the people he encounters. It explores lust and art, and of course death, and it just reads so smoothly. Highly recommend, though heed the content warnings.

Content Warnings

americattt's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

“For example, a client once told me that she liked van Gogh. I asked her whether she liked his landscapes or self-portraits. She hesitated, then told me she preferred his self-portraits. I always take a close look at those who lose themselves in self-portraits. They are solitary souls, prone to introspection, who have really grappled with their existence.”

Content Warnings

clairadise's review

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dark mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

Interesting and effective symbolism, but I think some parts were intentionally convoluted and vague to be artsy but actually resulted in kinda losing the thread.

Content Warnings

secrethistory's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Certain parts of this were painfully edgy, and the handling of women characters is questionable at best, but despite that I really liked the book and want to read more by the author. I was in a very dark place reading it, and the lack of clear morality and striking sadness of characters who sometimes don’t even realize how sad they really are resonated deeply. The ending with Mimi was stronger than Se-yeon’s story, but both were mostly good. I think the novel really explores negative feelings people have about life in a novel way, and the way the clients are built up is clever. We don’t know of any details of tragic histories, yet their sadness is obvious to everyone except the men sleeping with them. I think there was also am interesting difference in the narrator’s clients, who needed his services, and K, who seems ready to go on his own. It’s made me think about how people don’t always understand each other and what makes a life worth living. I think I’ll think about it for a long time.

Art features heavily in the book, which is interesting because it’s one of the things frequently cited as making life worth living, but is having that effect on none of the characters. The art discussed is always seductively violent, with one person who appears unmoved by the violence. A peaceful bathtub murder, an aroused woman with a severed head, a king watching over destruction, a fictional violent performance art. I appreciated the decision but need to think more on the role of art on the novel and it’s narrator.

All in all a thought provoking and good read, but again with the edgy man writing warning, and if you’re sensitive to sexual violence or suicide depictions turn away.

Content Warnings

alleelei's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

Content Warnings

chortle's review

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dark fast-paced

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

3.0

initial thoughts: Might I appreciate the narrator more if I was well-versed with philosophy on aesthetics of death? This novel's a reminder to interrogate (sometimes I wish there were reflexive verbs that denote actions done to oneself; so s'interroger in french... I am simultaneously the reader and my self, no?) the reader's separation of narrator and/or characters from their author.

More to say on the characters and execution later...

Content Warnings

joyfulhopes's review

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dark mysterious 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

2.75

Content Warnings

0325film's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

finished this book thinking it was a 2.5 star read; two days later, changed it to 3.75; then two days later decided it was a 4 star read. it has not left my mind for a week. while nothing much in terms of plot happens, it is deeply reflective and if you are keen to think hard about its messages and able to figure out kim’s thesis, then i’d definitely give this a shot. it’s an unsettling read but the psychology behind it is truly intriguing even though it’s heartbreaking.

Content Warnings

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