Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Bestiary, by K-Ming Chang

8 reviews

nixusiai's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

a beautifully written book on intergenerational trauma, and the way it cycles until someone makes an effort to break it! it also features a lot on what it's like to leave your home for the colonised countries, the beastification of people of colour, and how this effects all of the family well down the line. 

i absolutely adored the way k-ming chang wrote and formatted this. the juxtaposition of the almost flower prose versus the language used is just stunning!! loved the relationship between daughter and ben, too.

the final two chapters made it fall from a high 4☆ but i have a feeling that's mostly because it began to lean into the poetic & magical side and i didn't fully understand.

really recommend though! beautiful, especially for a debut!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Child abuse

Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Colonisation

svmreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/injury detail, Gun violence, War, and Dementia

stevie's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, War, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Misogyny

meganzc's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Vomit

catladycarson's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

This book was not for me. I felt like I was missing backstory of the myths referenced and I spent more of the book confused than understanding. It also was extremely graphic, with almost unstopping references to excrement and violence. Overall, I personally didn't enjoy it but I do think it does have some wonderful descriptors at times, and I liked the mythical stories told throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Excrement, Emotional abuse, and Violence

sucreslibrary's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

elizabethreading's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, and Vomit

nnox's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Violence