Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Human Acts by Han Kang

31 reviews

emmalouisereads's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

This is quite a tough read. It portrays the atrocities of the event very vividly.

The book uses different writing styles, such as some chapters being in second person (although not the same consistent ‘you’ throughout), and one chapter told from the perspective of one of the dead. Although these were interesting, I personally found it quite hard to follow the plot because of it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Child death, Suicide, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Gore, Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, War, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism

seulgireads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Confinement, Death, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Infertility, Cursing, Suicide, and Misogyny

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Vomit, Self harm, Cancer, and Excrement

tomoonarmy's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

“should this book really be rated?”, is what I asked myself after finishing this book. The events portrayed in this book so gruesome that it’s hard to believe that they really happened. 


“have their souls also escaped their bodies, flying away like birds?”

“There will be no forgiveness.”

“our soldiers are shooting. They’re shooting at us.”



I think that this book is an important piece of literature that many people should read (check the trigger warnings before tho!!), therefore I gave it a rating bc in today’s society I think people are more likely to read books with good ratings. So pls keep in mind that this rating isn’t about the story contained inside, more so for the writing and the importance of the story itself. 

If you can, please read this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Infertility, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Blood, Child death, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Body horror, Child death, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Vomit, Blood, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Gore, Infertility, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Gun violence

mick_travel's review

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Body horror, Death, Torture, Sexual violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

annalu's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Gun violence, Rape, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Alcoholism

sevensableyes's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

I don't really read books with dark content, let alone ones based on real events, so I don't really know how to review this. Saying I 'enjoyed' the book feels wrong.

It's a heartwrecnhing and tragic story about the Gwangju uprising. It was uncomfortable to read. It's beautifully written (another review I read on here goes into detail about the English translation, which was interesting).

I would highly recommend looking into content warnins before reading this book. Some things took me by surprise.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, War, Torture, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Self harm, and Medical content

Moderate: Grief and Alcoholism

kia_y_k's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Genocide, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Child death, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Torture

eline1701's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I think this one will stay with me for a long, long time. It was an incredibly heavy read. To say it was beautiful is not quite right either, it's gruesome and nauseating and upsetting. The writing, though, is beautiful. While I haven't read the Korean original, it felt like the translation was done with a whole lot of care, and I really appreciated the informative translator's note at the start, which explained the political situation in South Korea in the years leading up to the Gwangju Uprising (and I was very endeared by the way they admitted to drawing inspiration from the Yorkshire accent in "translating" the Gwangju dialect). The writing is merciless when it comes to the descriptions of violence in particular, yet also beautiful and contemplative at times, without feeling flowery or pretentious. I also loved the way in which all three single person points of view (I, you, she/he/they) were alternated throughout the novel, which made it all feel even more immersive and intense. 

As for the novel's content, despite the horrors that were described, the graphic descriptions always felt justified - never sensationalised, never allowing anyone to romanticise any of it. And at the same time, there was  a certain tenderness to it, especially for the different main characters, who are all so deeply human. 

Speaking of the characters, I thought the connections between them all were so masterfully done. For Seon-ju, it took me embarrassingly long to realise it was her, but when I did it hit me right in the chest. And Dong-ho as the red thread tying them all together when initially his focus is only on his friend... yeah. 

All of that said, I don't know if I'd recommend this book to anyone. It really is just very heavy and very graphic (see below, yes, all of those are described in detail again and again), to the point where I had some restless dreams from it. It's also a bleak book, as it doesn't only cover the events of the Uprising, but also its longlasting, ongoing aftereffects, without much of a message of hope. Still, I'm grateful to have read it though and to know a bit more about Gwangju, South Korea, and the Gwangju Uprising. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Rape, Torture, Blood, Death, Sexual violence, War, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts

ka_cam's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A beautiful and emotionally challenging read, and informative if you like me don’t start with much knowledge about the Gwangju Uprising. The method of exploring voices of different people connected to the uprising and a death of a child, including a spirit voice and the child as well as those more loosely connected, ended up feeling very tender rather than the loose-ends feeling that Can come from that style. Very moving and upsetting content. Highly recommend checking content warnings, highly recommended read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Body horror, Police brutality, Child death, Grief, and Rape

Moderate: Gun violence, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Medical content

Minor: Alcoholism

patslibrary's review

dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Murder, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Confinement, Mass/school shootings, and Vomit

Moderate: Suicide, Self harm, Misogyny, and Sexism