Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

161 reviews

mikeiswhere's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was significantly more disturbing than I expected it would be after reading the blurb, but I am glad to have learned from it. A very powerful and emotional book which had me much more invested than I expected.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, and Torture

raybudbury's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

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

3.75

Actually finishes the book club book before the meeting this month damn! 

This one was fine. I got a little emotional by the end as it’s about friendships and forgiveness (or lack thereof) spanning decades though I don’t know much about Jeju Island / much of Korea’s history the writing felt well-researched. I feel like I learned a lot from this book actually. The haenyeo diving and matriarchal culture and the massacre that took place on the island were new information to me. 

The beginning was slow for me personally but started picking up rapidly as the chapters (years) passed. Highly rec if you are looking for historical fiction related to Korea.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Police brutality, Murder, and War

clarke's review against another edition

slow-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

1.0

I spent the vast majority of my time reading this being bored and wishing for it to end. Which I knew would be the case, but it was chosen for this month's book club read, and I'm fuelled by spite. There were some small parts I enjoyed (you can probably guess which), but for the most part every chapter felt like I knew opportunity for it to tell me things I don't care about. The other 1 star reviews have articulated this well enough that I'm not going to elaborate. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

epruta's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide, and Alcohol

kenny_knp's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Minor: Rape

jayneejohnson's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Vomit, Pregnancy, and War

Minor: Miscarriage and Rape

lady_grey_with_honey's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

Lisa See does an amazing job of writing about relationships that span a lifetime and what it's like to live through traumatic events that impact someone's life forever. The way she wrote about the haenyeo culture and everything these women lived through from childhood to old age made me feel like I was right there - atmospheric, visceral, and emotional. Incredible story and incredible writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape and War

creative_potato's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, and War

jlworley's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This one wasn’t what I expected, delving into how the politics of the time affected the women in the story. Heart wrenching but also a story of forgiveness.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and War

aurnia's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape