Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Severance by Ling Ma

49 reviews

darthbiblia's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

• 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

Whoa. This book came out years before COVID, but the descriptions of the early stages were so uncanny. The dry humor and office politics, concerns about foreign labor and gender issues. I loved the story of her immigrant parents assimilating in the United States, then bringing her as a small child. This was a beautiful story, and I was sad that it ended. I look forward to more from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Death, Sexism, Vomit, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Pregnancy, Grief, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness

samcanuel's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This is the only pandemic book I have been able to enjoy post-covid to date. Really well written, very thought provoking, and times honestly quite creepy. Ma’s pandemic is an imaginative commentary on the routine way we live our lives under capitalism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Violence, Gun violence, and Medical content

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Vomit

kirchnerkd's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, and Confinement

Moderate: Violence and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide

querciola's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abortion, Addiction, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, and Drug use

serena_hien's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Violence, Confinement, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Dementia, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Racism, Car accident, and Alcohol

crimsonreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I...did not...expect this...

Something about the way the first paragraphs of the synopsis are written made me think this would have sarcastic, dark, millennial humor in is plot... But instead it truly makes you feel and think.
Obviously this whole adventure hits WAY different in a post covid-19 world and I think that's to it's benefit. While I'm certain the story still gripped and engrossed in 2018, having actually lived the fear of people and air and jobs and future and closures and emptiness really makes the book's feeling real.
More real, even then the reality. I felt more loneliness reading Candace's experience in her NY office than I did going to and from my own city job on empty El cars in 2020. It's surreal and I couldn't stop reading. 

As a note, Ma doesn't utilize quotation marks for any of her dialogue. I think I would have going this a problem in another person's writing but there was a sense of memory in the way Severance is written that made the lack of quotes feel right. Like nothing Candace is saying is correct enough to be quoted. It's paraphrased or untrustworthy because it's only how she recalls it and not for sure how it happened. It really does fit the vibe of the story and only caught me up about 4 or 5 times in total. But I know this might be a deal breaker for others, so I'm letting you know.

But I do highly recommend this. I had been interested in it for a while and it lived up to expectations and then some!

Only reason this doesn't have 5 stars is because of that ending! I flipped pages wondering if I somehow skipped something or had some stuck together! I have to know more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, Bullying, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

46jjsg's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

Who is this novel for? What was this novel for?? Sometimes there are stories told to just to be told and I get that- I seriously do; however, I feel so tricked into reading this because where's the satire on capitalism and the modern workforce that I was promised?? For context, I'm an Asian American immigrant who is 25F + works in corporate + in the Midwest. You would think I would be able to relate to the mc but the more I read the more I found the mc of this novel to be frustrating and by the end of the novel I was tearing my hair out like that's it?? I don't know if it's because I'm gen z but I just wanted to grab the mc by the shoulders and a scream at her to get herself together it's so embarrassing!!! I don't understand the author, am I supposed to root for Candace? Is she meant to be unlikable? I've read novels with unlikable characters (see: Wuthering Heights) but at least they have actions that revolve around a theme and you learn something as a reader or it opens up a discussion. Candace is so passive and just so emotionally detached literally pre and post shen fever that I just feel like if she doesn't care about her own life (multiple self destructive behaviors) so why should I care for her?? Candace longs for connection and the sense of belonging, but her attempts (if they can even be called that) at building meaningful relationships are so lack luster?? Like I said. Maybe it's because of my age, but I just don't get this. I like contemporaries. I like dystopians. I like nonlinear storytelling. But this novel just wasn't it. 2 stars because despite all of this, the premise is really interesting at a surface level and I'm impressed this was published pre-covid. The bar is low. Maybe I would've rated this higher if I wasn't a asian american woman myself but who knows.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, and Confinement

Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Gun violence, and Terminal illness

savshelfinger's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-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

3.5

pretty twisted apocalyptic coming-of-age. ending was a bit anti-climactic for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Murder

dr_kat's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I read this tender, troubling, complex, engaging novel and it wedged into the folds of my brain and wouldn’t shake out. Then the world shut down and a plague worked it’s way into our lives. All I could think about was this book. Weirdly, it helped to see how the protagonist handled her situation; her trials and troubles. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Gun violence, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

siriface's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Medical trauma