Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Cabinet by Un-su Kim

2 reviews

scifi_rat's review

dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

Plot: 3.75★
Prose: 4★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4★/4.5★
Characters: 4★
Worldbuilding: 4★
Ending: 3.75★

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Gore, Grief, Suicide, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Cursing, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Blood, Cancer, and Animal death

chocolate_pondue's review

emotional funny informative mysterious reflective relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

This book surprised me from beginning to end. It starts off very funny, lighthearted, and strange. It's the story of a man, Mr. Kong, who, through extraordinary yet mundane circumstances, becomes a secretary for someone who handles cases of humans dealing with strange phenomena. The writing style is very matter-of-fact despite the strangeness of the content, so it gives it adds a layer of magical realism to a story that constantly points out how unrealistic everything is. Mr. Kong fights this role he's in at every turn, considers the people he's helping a pain in his side, and relays their stories with disinterest. Yet somehow, he is still drawn to them and in turn, so are we. I loved reading this book. The individual stories were so interesting. Some were funny, some were sad, and some were just plain weird, but each one was told in this dull, imaginative voice that just kept me wanting more. I even enjoyed reading about his everyday life. Seeing these people through Mr. Kong's eyes and hearing their stories in his voice was engaging because I felt like a lot of the things he thought, I would have thought as well. Any normal human would have thought of them, and I really enjoyed that a lot. 

I will say there are some things I wasn't very into. There is a lot of judgment for particular characters, a couple of which there are a lot of bullying, fatphobia, and body shaming. Having lived in South Korea for a bit, I understand the thin cultural layer around this, but it was still offputting because it's something that shouldn't happen to anyone, anywhere. The end definitely had a tone shift which I had to take a moment to appreciate. I was shaken when I finished because so much of the novel was light-heartedly that I didn't think it would end up where it did. But once I took a second to soal everything in, once again it was a realistic ending to an unrealistic situation. I couldn't think of another way it would have ended and still have been satisfying. It doesn't have a particular plot. It's very much like a slice of life/character study. So if you enjoy those types of novels and strange tales, I think you would really love this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, and Fatphobia

Minor: Alcoholism, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping