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skitch41's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Cannibalism
bugle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Murder
Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
linalina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
jesshindes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There were a few groups of stories in this book, for me: the first two in particular are body horror tied to femininity. A woman who gets pregnant by taking too many birth control pills and has to find a father for her unborn child. A woman haunted by a head made from her own excrement. There's also a haunted house story about a woman whose husband gets them into debt that I might put in the same bracket. The stories are weird - like bad dreams - but they get at some of the pressures and anxieties to which women are subject, in the UK as well as in Korea. I have been reading more and more horror and speculative fiction recently and I really enjoy and admire the way that it can be used to set everyday fears in a new light by refiguring them into something strange and less familiar - I think that's exactly what Chung does here.
There are also a number of stories that have a less nightmarish and more fairytale sort of quality - not any less dark, but still tonally different, with a strong moral throughline and often involving magical animals (the titular story is one of these). For me it felt like lots of these were about human cruelty (usually but not exclusively masculine cruelty) - the horrible things people will do to others in order to protect or advance themselves and their interests. Some of these have a kind of Pillowman vibe, if that helps to place them. Again, they made a strong impression on me even though they were often pretty bleak. Chung's vision of the world is a fairly dark one although she does usually leave a chink of (more or less ambiguous) hope.
Overall I thought each of these stories was strong and the collection itself expressed a distinctive voice and a distinctive take on human experience. I have enjoyed reading books from Japan and Korea for giving me insight into societies that feel in some respects quite different from mine and I actually thought this did the same thing even though it wasn't telling a realist narrative. It also confirmed my continuing appetite for the speculative. More weird books to come, no doubt!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Torture, and Pregnancy
serotonone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Abandonment
Moderate: Incest
miniatureghosts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The embodiment: 4/5⭐️
Cursed bunny: 4.5/5⭐️ one of the stand outs, love a good revenge story
The frozen finger: 3/5⭐️ I didn’t fully get it
Snare: 3/5⭐️ definitely the most horrifying story of the bunch and it put me off reading for about a month, did what it came to do but it drags on for too long
Goodbye my love: 3.5/5⭐️
Scars: 2/5⭐️ drags on for way too long
Home sweet home: 2.5/5⭐️ this was the most forgettable story of the lot
Ruler of the winds and sands: 4.5/5⭐️ this is like a dark fairytale but with non typical gender roles
Reunion: 2.5/5⭐️ again I don’t think I fully understood this one, somewhat forgettable
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Body horror
Moderate: Incest, Rape, and Suicide
demonxore's review against another edition
3.5
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Pregnancy
lillieslibraryy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Incest and Suicide
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and War
Minor: Ableism, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Menstruation ("The Head," "The Embodiment").sakisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Vomit