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chemicallykat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
ebba94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Alcohol, and War
alisonw's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Firstly a TW: It deals with extremely heavy subjects of loss, war, corruption, all kinds of abuse, murder including all ages, all very graphically so please be warned if you think you can’t handle that.
But if you’re unsure, don’t let that put you off. This book tells the true story of the people of Jeju and all they have gone through in the last century through a fictional narrative and the graphic elements are there because they happened, reading them feels similar to the sobering feeling of going to a concentration camp has, it’s horribly sad but feels like a necessity to be able to respect and remember - in my case as a European who was taught nothing about Korea’s history, it felt so important to acknowledge and learn about these events for the first time.
The author is masterful at weaving history and fiction together, none of the fictitious story line feels forced to bring in a historical event, while at the same time the story does not steal from the history, I would actually say it helps give it more blood and feel more tangible rather than cold facts on a page about somewhere far away.
Highly highly recommend.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
entre_fanon_y_weil's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Genocide, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Colonisation
jedore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“You should be more careful out there,” the doctor says. “You have a dangerous job. I mean, do you see men doing it?”
“Of course not!” Young-sook exclaims. “The world knows that the cold water will cause their penises to shrivel and die.”
This is my fourth Lisa See book...and the second one that made my all-time favorite list (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is the first). Lisa is an amazing author, goddess of research, and master of character development.
I've gotten a glimpse of the horrific treatment of Koreans by the Japanese (Pachinko) and the U.S. (The Peoples' History of the United States), but this story was an intimate and personal journey into the lives of those living on the island of Jeju. Wow, just wow...as I close the cover of what feels like every book I read these days, my faith in humanity lessens. The ability of one "tribe's" ability to completely disassociate and commit horrors against "outsiders" is mind boggling.
The story also cemented a personal opinion that I've been pondering for some time now, one based both on my own life experiences and the thousands of books I've read.
Women are, in general and by far, the stronger sex.
In the face of poverty, war, and other intense hardships, I've observed (personally or literally) many a man fall apart and their women carry them (as well as their children). The haenyo divers of Jeju took this to a whole other level as they were not only capable of carrying their men emotionally, but physically as well.
A week after closing the back cover of this book and I still find myself thinking about the perfectly imperfect heroines of this story and replaying many of the scenes in my mind. Add this to the fact that I have a more complete knowledge about history (so I can do what I can to stop it from repeating) and it's no wonder it's an all-time favorite.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Alcoholism
galexy_brain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
naomi_k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
abrdoodle'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Blood, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
leoniethespacewayfarer's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Alcoholism
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The sections with historical, social and cultural informations were very interesting (at least for me) but I don't think that they were very well integrated into the narration and I can see how someone might find them a bit too much didactic and dry.
The historical events that are the basis for this story were brutal and certainly they cannot be brushed aside, but I still think that an author can approach the portraying of violence in a way that does not feel gratuitous (as it did for me in this case). I don't think that such a violence was well transposed on the page, at times it just felt like a list of atrocities, just for shock value.
In general, I just didn't get along much with the writing style, I found it eithera bit plain or a bit too much overdone, without much subtlety in terms of both narration and characterization.
Speaking of characters, I have to say that I struggled to connect with them, even when it came to the main character, Youngsook, there were very few moments when I felt really engrossed in her story and her feelings. I think that the characters' emotions were not so well portrayed, they were either too much melodramatic for my taste or kept hidden or just vaguely hinted at, so that I struggled as a reader to actually understand their depth and to be interested in the unfolding of the various relationships.
I wasn't so keen on the big final reveal, the events of the last chapters
just felt like too much for me, too over dramatic, too out of nowhere, just too much. The ending itself was also very abrupt.
I really liked the setting and the historical/cultural background but the story, the characters and the writing style quite dampened my enjoyment of the book.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Cancer