Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Cabinet by Un-su Kim

4 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

jaimeeslitlife's review

challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

"There is no moral of the story - that's the moral of the story."

“These things are recorded simply because they just are. Not because they are magnificent or beautiful, but because they exist beside us.” 

In THE CABINET, stories of symptomers (people who have biologically metamorphosed in surreal ways) are juxtaposed against the story of Kong Deok-geun, an office worker whose life is full of I-would-rather-eat-dog-treats-than-suffer-this-boredom boredom. Deok-geun is a passive, unenthusiastic narrator who seems to be swept along by his story instead of writing it himself. What starts as a boredom-fueled break-in to an exceedingly ordinary cabinet that holds the symptomers' files turns into a bizarre and potentially lethal ride from which Deok-geun makes no real attempt to escape. There was something so intensely human about the way Deok-geun ignored the absurdities happening in the world around him, pushing them away and minimizing them until they forced him to pay attention. Instead of putting off a dentist appointment, however, Deok-geun puts off thinking about the potential consequences of his interactions with the symptomers. 

THE CABINET defies convention just as much as the symptomers do. It is darkly humorous and upbeat, but also disturbing on a visceral level. Dry humor and a touch of whimsy mingle with body horror and intense satire of capitalist office culture. Absurd science fiction vignettes meet the absurdity of reality. THE CABINET is a fascinatingly weird little book that deserves its own special place in the world of fiction. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit and Medical content

emilylouise_g's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

The book focuses on “symptomers” - people who turn into something else, fall asleep for years, split in two, etc,

but as the book progresses we can see that they aren’t so much medical mysteries but rather people suffering from capitalism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Fatphobia, Bullying, Body horror, Terminal illness, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Excrement and Eating disorder

Minor: Vomit

olivefoil's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Drug use, Torture, Fatphobia, and Terminal illness