Reviews tagging 'Murder'

La isla de las mujeres del mar by Lisa See

72 reviews

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, War, Blood, Child death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Torture, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Excrement, Vomit, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Cancer

zombiezami's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

I always learn so much about history from Lisa See's novels, and this book was no exception. There was clearly a lot of research and care that went into producing this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gun violence, Violence, War, Death, Murder, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Child death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Blood, Gore, Animal death, and Genocide

Moderate: Vomit, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexism, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual harassment, Excrement, Ableism, Alcoholism, and Medical content

Minor: Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Kidnapping, Drug use, and Infidelity

Starvation

craftyanty's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

4.75

I love a book that teaches me about a people, culture, or event that I know little about. This book did all that, and somehow it was still so much more. This book took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions and will stay with me for a long time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Genocide, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Domestic abuse

meredithamadee's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.25

I have never read a book about haenyo so this was fascinating! It is very well reasearched. In my mind, the plot of this book goes between being super relational and super informative of the current events. It is a very sad book, but extremely beautiful. It’s about pride and shame and guilt and forgiveness and the tension between progress and tradition in a culture that relies on tradition to survive. I thought the ending was rushed and would enjoyed seeing more of the relationships and conclusions fleshed out but overall it’s a beautiful and worthwhile read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

corriejn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

I checked out this book based on a recommendation, and because I'd heard of the haenyeo before and was interested in learning more. Clearly I didn't look much into the details of the book beforehand, as I started it expecting nonfiction-- when it was apparent it was a novel, that was fine and I just adjusted that expectation. The story is still very informative about the lives and traditions of the Korean women sea-divers. What I wish I had realized beforehand, though, is that the book covers much of mid-19th-century Korean history and includes some really graphic and traumatic descriptions of atrocities committed during occupation and wartime (such content is mainly in the latter half of the book). It is still a powerful and artfully told story, but do be aware of that going in, and don't pick this one up if you're looking for a light read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, War, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Genocide, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Medical content, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

elly29's review against another edition

challenging dark informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

A slow burn of a novel, that suddenly dissolves. I loved that it was about women divers (in Jeju, an island off of South Korea's coast). The best part of the book was the society of haenyeo -- as a woman, who works, (and who just got some scuba certification), it was a joy and delight to hear of classic gender roles turned on their head.

Junbu, Young-Sook's husband, seemed like a woman's fantasy of a husband. 

I also didn't know about the Bukchon Massacre, or anything about Jeju Island and the struggle between insurgent and anti-communist government forces. There is a brutal scene that involves lots of things like rape, torture, murder, and child murder. (Also makes me sick at the thought that these things are happening in Ukraine.)

In the end, this is a story about diving, survival, and forgiveness. I love that the sea is a constant, a grandmother who will never leave you even when everything else has changed. I like the phrase, "To understand everything is to forgive." Using Young-Sook and her life as an example of what we should not do: may we be patient, may we ask questions, may we never assume, may we be perceptive.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: War, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, and Torture

Minor: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death

Moderate: War and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual assault

bites_of_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

Lisa See wrote a most incredible story of friendship, family, trauma, love, war, all set in the island of Jeju. It also takes place over many decades as we follow our main character, Young-Sook, from the time when she was a child to when she is a great grand mother. We see through her eyes how she learned to become a part of the group of women who dive into the sea in order to collect food to sustain their families.

Something that stands out from the start is that this is a matrifocal society, this means that the women are the providers for their families while the husbands and sons stay home cooking and caring for their children. The bonds that all the women have in their diving collective are unique and stronger than some blood-relations.

The story of Young-Sook and Mi-ja, her best friend, is set against the background of the political turmoil caused by the Japanese colonialists as well as by WWII and the Korean war. I learned a lot about the history of Korea from the perspective of the people in Jeju island. They suffered famine, terrible violence, deep trauma while seeing people die all around them, all while trying to continue their traditions and sustaining their families. 

I'm amazed at the amount of research that had to go into this book and how, even though there was a lot of detail, things still moved forward at a great pace. The slowest parts for me were when trying to understand the political interactions between the citizens of Jeju, the Japanese colonialists, the American soldiers, and the various Korean groups that all contributed to what happened in the island. 

I was taken by surprise when about 250 pages in I was just weeping because of what was happening in the book. I mean, I slowly but surely grew to love these characters but also the whole community of Jeju island and I didn't quite realize it! 

I'd recommend this book because it is so well written, so well researched, and the world really needs to know about this beautiful community of women divers of Jeju island. Do be prepared for difficult and violent events and to just fall in love with the characters and the island as a whole. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Murder, Death, and War

agnesg's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Colonisation, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

alayamorning's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Excrement, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Miscarriage, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism and Cancer