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micasa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
buku ini berisi 10 cerpen dengan topik yg berbeda-beda dan beberapa di antaranya mengkritik isu sosial. mungkin Bora Chung tidak bermaksud utk memberi kritik pada hal spesifik yg terjadi di masyarakat, namun menurutku tulisannya berhasil menjadi ‘warning’ untuk pembaca.
sebagai pembaca juga, aku akan menuliskan review disini :
1. ‘Kelinci Terkutuk’ adalah pembalasan dendam akan suatu hal di masa lalu yg sulit utk dilawan. jadi, dipilihnya cerpen ini sbg judul buku memang cocok utk menarik perhatian pembaca. aku suka dg konsep cerita bahwa pembalasan dendam jg akan menyakiti diri sendiri.
2. buatku, ‘Si Kepala’ menjadi cerpen dg tema kritik sosial kpd orang² dg kuasa lebih atas seseorang. selama membaca, aku agak ngeri membayangkan sosok kepala & meski aku sempat memprediksi ending cerita, kisah ini ‘ngeri’ dg pertanyaan sosok tsb.
3. ‘Menstruasi’ tidak semengerikan yg aku kira krn fenomena ini pernah tjd kepadaku sbg perempuan, tapi tentu saja tanpa drama & akhir cerita yg mengejutkan semua orang. aku rasa, isu menstruasi wanita tdk menjadi hal yg tabu agar tdk terjadi miskonsepsi spt yg disampaikan cerpen ini.
4. ‘Jari-Jari yang Dingin’ membawaku ke tempat yg cukup horror sekalipun aku baca cerpen ini di siang hari. all about the feels, i must said. this is straight up giving you chills.
5. ‘Perangkap’ membuatku marah-marah seharian dan mengutuk perilaku tokoh fiksi yg minim akhlak, wah pokoknya silahkan baca sendiri & petik moral value-nya.
6. ‘Selamat Tinggal Cintaku’ adalah kisah fiksi ttg robot & manusia yg aku yakin beberapa dari kalian tahu ini akan berakhir dimana tapi krn ini horror, iya ini cerita cinta yg seram.
7. ‘Bekas Luka’ adl satu-satunya cerita yg membuatku merasakan mixed feeling. sejujurnya, saat membaca aku agak bosan krn cerpen ini lbh panjang dr yg lain & kisah ini juga mengingatkanku dg novela 'The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas' dr Ursula K. Le Guin, sangat mengerikan juga menyedihkan.
8. ‘Rumahku Istanaku’ bikin emosi dan aku bersimpati dg tokoh wanita disini, selamat berjuang utk kehidupan yg lbh baik. semoga kamu kuat sampai akhir.
9. ‘Penguasa Angin dan Pasir’ terkesan seperti dongeng tapi dg tokoh² & plot yg lebih realistis. tokoh wanita disini, juga hebat.
10. ‘Reuni’ adalah cerpen yg menjadi favoritku dan tiap² perenungannya terasa dekat dg rumah, karena senyatanya yg mengerikan adalah hidup & kita masih harus bertahan sampai akhir.
sebagai pembaca juga, aku akan menuliskan review disini :
1. ‘Kelinci Terkutuk’ adalah pembalasan dendam akan suatu hal di masa lalu yg sulit utk dilawan. jadi, dipilihnya cerpen ini sbg judul buku memang cocok utk menarik perhatian pembaca. aku suka dg konsep cerita bahwa pembalasan dendam jg akan menyakiti diri sendiri.
2. buatku, ‘Si Kepala’ menjadi cerpen dg tema kritik sosial kpd orang² dg kuasa lebih atas seseorang. selama membaca, aku agak ngeri membayangkan sosok kepala & meski aku sempat memprediksi ending cerita, kisah ini ‘ngeri’ dg pertanyaan sosok tsb.
3. ‘Menstruasi’ tidak semengerikan yg aku kira krn fenomena ini pernah tjd kepadaku sbg perempuan, tapi tentu saja tanpa drama & akhir cerita yg mengejutkan semua orang. aku rasa, isu menstruasi wanita tdk menjadi hal yg tabu agar tdk terjadi miskonsepsi spt yg disampaikan cerpen ini.
4. ‘Jari-Jari yang Dingin’ membawaku ke tempat yg cukup horror sekalipun aku baca cerpen ini di siang hari. all about the feels, i must said. this is straight up giving you chills.
5. ‘Perangkap’ membuatku marah-marah seharian dan mengutuk perilaku tokoh fiksi yg minim akhlak, wah pokoknya silahkan baca sendiri & petik moral value-nya.
6. ‘Selamat Tinggal Cintaku’ adalah kisah fiksi ttg robot & manusia yg aku yakin beberapa dari kalian tahu ini akan berakhir dimana tapi krn ini horror, iya ini cerita cinta yg seram.
7. ‘Bekas Luka’ adl satu-satunya cerita yg membuatku merasakan mixed feeling. sejujurnya, saat membaca aku agak bosan krn cerpen ini lbh panjang dr yg lain & kisah ini juga mengingatkanku dg novela 'The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas' dr Ursula K. Le Guin, sangat mengerikan juga menyedihkan.
8. ‘Rumahku Istanaku’ bikin emosi dan aku bersimpati dg tokoh wanita disini, selamat berjuang utk kehidupan yg lbh baik. semoga kamu kuat sampai akhir.
9. ‘Penguasa Angin dan Pasir’ terkesan seperti dongeng tapi dg tokoh² & plot yg lebih realistis. tokoh wanita disini, juga hebat.
10. ‘Reuni’ adalah cerpen yg menjadi favoritku dan tiap² perenungannya terasa dekat dg rumah, karena senyatanya yg mengerikan adalah hidup & kita masih harus bertahan sampai akhir.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Vomit, Rape, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, and Miscarriage
Minor: War
lydiacowley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
This is a really difficult collection to review as some stories I absolutely loved, particularly The Head and Snare, and others I failed to enjoy.
The stories I loved:
°The Head
°The Embodiment
°The Frozen Finger
°Snare
The stories I liked:
°Goodbye, My Love
°Reunion
The stories I didn't enjoy:
°Cursed Bunny
°Scars
°Home Sweet Home
°Ruler of the Winds and Sands
Side note - I'm really glad I did not read this whilst I was pregnant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Rape
hellokittikovacs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
This book got me out of a reading slump and made me love short story collections. A masterpiece that will keep you up at night and weirdly develop a fear of your toilet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Animal death, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Slavery, and Physical abuse
intoblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
1.5
The final story was beautiful; the rest was mediocre at best
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Incest, and Rape
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Suicide
x_bookworm_x's review against another edition
dark
4.5
Liked all short stories but feel like they should’ve been in a different order. IMO the first two seemed a bit too similar, or explored similar-ish themes.
I also think there was quite a strong folklore element to quite a few stories, which I liked but I haven’t rlly seen mentioned before.
Just a note, some of the stories do have some rather effed up content so be warned.
I also think there was quite a strong folklore element to quite a few stories, which I liked but I haven’t rlly seen mentioned before.
Just a note, some of the stories do have some rather effed up content so be warned.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, and Child abuse
perfectplaces's review against another edition
5.0
“Life shrinks into a trap made up of a shimmering moment in the past, a trap where they endlessly repeat that singular moment when they were surest of being alive. That moment is short, but long after it has passed, good times as well as bad slip like sand through their fingers as they meaninglessly repeat and confirm their survival.”
-
just so good. every story in here was like wow. wow. i’m in shock. i can’t even pick a favourite.
mind the trigger warnings! there are a LOT and each story has different ones but i’ve tried to tag the most significant.
-
just so good. every story in here was like wow. wow. i’m in shock. i can’t even pick a favourite.
mind the trigger warnings! there are a LOT and each story has different ones but i’ve tried to tag the most significant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Suicide, Incest, and Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Excrement, and Rape
hedsek's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
It's difficult to rate this book, as some of the stories were hard for me to understand without understanding their cultural context. Sometimes I felt like I wasn't able to get at any deeper meaning to some of the more gory stories, which left me with the feeling that things were just done for shock value (which is probably wrong). The concepts and ideas in this bundle are really intriguing and some of the stories do get stuck in your head quite a bit because they are so unique and make you uncomfortable for quite some time after reading them.
The first two stories are very gory, and I don't think they give a very good impression of the rest of the bundle so don't stop reading if you dislike those two. The other stories can be gory as well, but I feel like they have more to offer aside from that. 'Snare' (definitely horrifying in its own way) was my favourite, and the last three stories are a good read as well.
I'm personally not really a fan of the writing style as it can get a bit repetitive, but it's also not offensive and it reads pretty easily.
The first two stories are very gory, and I don't think they give a very good impression of the rest of the bundle so don't stop reading if you dislike those two. The other stories can be gory as well, but I feel like they have more to offer aside from that. 'Snare' (definitely horrifying in its own way) was my favourite, and the last three stories are a good read as well.
I'm personally not really a fan of the writing style as it can get a bit repetitive, but it's also not offensive and it reads pretty easily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Pregnancy, Excrement, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Blood, Incest, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism and War
charleyroxy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Can a book be diabolically good? I am not sure but I will submit that it can be. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung and translated from Korean by Anton Hur is an upcoming release from Honford Star (15 July) and is just that kind of good. This collection of ten stories ranges from fairytales to absolute horror and the gamut inbetween. I am in awe of Chung's talent as a short story author and look forward to reading more of her writing one day. With it's subtle and not so subtle critiques of patriarchy, capitalism, and humanity itself it really has so much to offer and the translation is flawless. While I enjoyed the titular Cursed Bunny, Reunion and Goodbye, My Love a lot, my favourite was The Frozen Finger. The story immediately thrusts you into the aftermath of a car crash and from start to finish it was everything I want from a short story. I felt the intensity, the panic, the confusion, everything! I would absolutely suggest pre-ordering this one and, if in the UK, directly from Honford Star. Don't miss this one.
As an important note, I will include a list of content warnings below because it is long. If you are squeamish about bodily fluids you won't make it past the first story. There is gore, abuse, animal cruelty, suicide, and more so be prepared. I loved finding this quote of Chung's from an interview about her writing to give you an idea:
"I don’t feel scared at all when writing horrific or gory scenes. I think it’s because my intention is more to imagine what an ordinary person wouldn’t do or wouldn’t react to, of that twist in the character’s behavior. Aside from making up a fun plot, you’ve got to make the unusual reactions of your characters believable if you want to convince your reader. I think the power of writing is in this ability to make the reader believe. I wanted to see how far I could push that in my writing. That’s all I was trying to do, and it’s amusing to me when people say my characters scare them."
As an important note, I will include a list of content warnings below because it is long. If you are squeamish about bodily fluids you won't make it past the first story. There is gore, abuse, animal cruelty, suicide, and more so be prepared. I loved finding this quote of Chung's from an interview about her writing to give you an idea:
"I don’t feel scared at all when writing horrific or gory scenes. I think it’s because my intention is more to imagine what an ordinary person wouldn’t do or wouldn’t react to, of that twist in the character’s behavior. Aside from making up a fun plot, you’ve got to make the unusual reactions of your characters believable if you want to convince your reader. I think the power of writing is in this ability to make the reader believe. I wanted to see how far I could push that in my writing. That’s all I was trying to do, and it’s amusing to me when people say my characters scare them."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Pregnancy, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Incest, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual content
While there is not a miscarriage exactly, in The Embodiment there is a scene that would be quite triggering to those who have had the experience.
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