Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Cabinet by Un-su Kim

5 reviews

eggplantia5's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I found this a little hard to get started but then I was hooked. I loved the descriptions of the different symptomers - kind of wish there were more. I find that many of the books from Korean authors I've read have main characters who are very unsympathetic and they don't care that they are unlikeable. And while they do grow, it's different from how American or British authors would have a main character grow. 

The ending was a little rushed - I found the torture scene really horrifying despite its relative brevity, and that kind of overwhelmed the ending for me. I wish we understood the role that Jeong-eun had to play a bit more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, and Torture

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

flamesocks's review

funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Torture, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Medical content

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

kateofmind's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Eating disorder, Excrement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, and Vomit

Most of the trigger warning content is in the latter part of the book. Skip the restaurant scene (which depicts a weird form of bulimia) and the scene after the narrator is tasered. You won't really miss any plot points.