Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Grænmetisætan by Han Kang

439 reviews

bibliomich's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.0

The Vegatarian was a challenging read for me, and it is a book that I think I would need to go back and read again in order to fully appreciate what Han Kang was trying to achieve. My experience reading the book was hindered by the fact that I (mistakenly) assumed it fell in the genre of body horror, and so for much of the book I was anticipating a shift into something that resembled classic horror and/or body horror, and I was confused by the pacing of the story. The Vegetarian, in actuality, is much closer to literary fiction, and while there are certainly some horrific elements, the story is really exploring female bodily autonomy. It is smart and intense, and I think if I had gone into the book with no expectations at all, I would have appreciated the reading experience quite a lot more than I did.

CW: disordered eating, self harm, suicidal ideation and attempt, blood, sexual assault, infidelity, forced institutionalization for mental illness

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Eating disorder, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization

nadiarausa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

Before I share a few initial thoughts, for anyone interested in reading the book, please be aware of a few TW/CW: there are two instances of SA, the first in part one and the other in part two, as well as a few instances of self-h*rm and su*c*de attempts. 

As for my initial thoughts: I think a lot of people missed the point of this book. It certainly wasn’t about convincing anyone to be vegetarian or vegan, it wasn’t even just to relay gory and creepy things (though much of the “creepy” imagery in this book was honestly quite beautiful to me); it’s about the harm of misogyny, patriarchy, and the lack of autonomy women have, and how this affects the physical and mental health of women in patriarchal societies. 

Han Kang did a beautiful job weaving a story that gives a fantastical horror vibe to the very real world that women (or women-raised folks) live in. I would love to read this in Korean as well! I’d be interested to see how similar or different things are between translations. 

One thing on translation that I will note: I wish they’d used the names of the dishes rather than listing ingredients. I get that they were trying to clarify if there was meat in this or that dish, but it felt so weird to read something like japchae (잡채) translated as “stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables and meat.” It’s like saying “wheat noodles with tomato sauce and meat” instead of just saying spaghetti. But otherwise, with only having read the English translation, the translator seemed to do a good job.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexism, Rape, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt

tsundokuu's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape, Medical content, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Eating disorder

heartofhorrors's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Gore, Physical abuse, and Rape

bridge_to_narnia's review against another edition

dark tense 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? It's complicated

2.25

Well written, but I don't think it was for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Rape

dawndiscusses's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

The most endearing part was Han's exploration of the impossibility of a truly ethical life, the impact of which I think has softened to some of the other perceived flaws others have pointed out. I'm generally not a fan of art that requires extra research (e.g. author interviews, discussion threads etc) to get a grasp on, but in this case I'm glad I followed my curiosity. Having watched Han discuss the project and reading a lot of the wonderful clarity provided by people in this community, I am moved by her willingness to open herself up and confront a subject matter that has plagued her for so long. Not in attempt to find a solution, but in the desire to explore what it means to be human. For that alone and the earnestness with which both she and translator Deborah Smith carried this project out, I really enjoyed it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Medical content, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Rape, Self harm, Gore, Mental illness, Body shaming, Medical trauma, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Minor: Domestic abuse

karleigh25's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Eating disorder, Death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Self harm

rickle400's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I’ve read a lot of dark weird books but this one has gotta be up there as one of the most consistently intense and head spinning books I’ve ever read. Probs not helpful for my mental health but a refreshing, challenging book. I doubt I’ll ever forget it 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Self harm

Moderate: Vomit and Violence

eveofstagnes's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, and Rape

sharnanigans's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Rape, Eating disorder, Medical content, Sexism, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Blood, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Gore, Death, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexual assault, and Addiction