Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

210 reviews

orchidforever's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

I loved this book till the epilogue. I think I ranted for a bit at my husband. But I also know it’s set up for the next book but man. I’m mad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, War, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Genocide and Sexual violence

It’s a war book. No explicit sexual acts in writing.

gaynidoking's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, War, Addiction, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape, Domestic abuse, Death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Fatphobia, Racism, Confinement, and Body shaming

cnaccarato's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Genocide, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Addiction, Ableism, Death, Murder, War, Classism, Confinement, Homophobia, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Rape, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Violence, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Slavery

chanlo1994's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Death, Ableism, Alcohol, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, War, Trafficking, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexism, and Confinement

Moderate: Rape and Panic attacks/disorders

agoldstarforyou's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-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: Confinement, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Bullying, War, Body horror, Torture, and Sexism

theotherallie's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Body horror, Gaslighting, Death, Child abuse, and Grief

dragonsheart8261920's review

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

I can't wait for the sequel!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Classism, Death, War, Body horror, Alcoholism, Rape, and Violence

I think this is definitely a book to listen to rather then read if you don't have any Chinese language pronunciation or knowledge. The narrator is phenomenal and I real felt immersed in the world whereas trying to read it myself I kept being like you day that word how? So I tandem read it and enjoyed it a lot!

eveningreverie's review

adventurous dark tense fast-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

3.25

This played out like an anime in my head—I can definitely see the credit sequence every single time there’s a giant robot battle.

I’m entirely confused about the themes suddenly interjected into the book in quite literally the very last chapter.

Zeitian is definitely a badass, but her choices don’t really make a lot of sense and aren’t really explained. She has emotional realizations and then—when asked to essentially follow up on those realizations—regresses in her character development. Some of the arguments for not being shamed with one’s own body or sexuality don’t really hold up either since she is still bending to the wills of men in order to potentially (I say potentially because

there are certain moments that absolutely would not have ended at whatever she thought they would. See: the video Yizhi's dad forces her to take of her reading her contract naked. She says "what's he going to have? A video of me naked? I'm done being shamed about my body" and the only thing I can think of is "girl what the hell you really think this guy is going to stop at only having a video after he's already made you do that?!?!" A lot of the arguments for lack of shame feel like they're based on her actually taking men at what they say, which felt like red flag after red flag

) get a step closer to her goals. I understand it, for sure, but it’s never interrogated too deeply and it feels as though there’s a big portion of this book that requires that deeper interrogation. Why are we portraying things this particular way? Why are we achieving self-actualization through

having sex with specific men?

What does this particular angle of bending to others' whims to achieve self goals add to the narrative and themes? Could it have been stronger if she denied these male “desires?” 

I’m not sure, but the breakneck pace of the plot didn’t leave much room for characters to sit with these questions, and much less time for the audience to. I'm not saying the vengeful post-feminism has to hinge on completely shutting down any sort of desire for the masculine, but this tension is really not interrogated to the level at which the nuance would actually jump out of the page.

Gripping plot and definitely a page turner—I got through it in under a day. Feels like it lost its footing in the last couple chapters, though, as if a sequel setup was all the rest of the story was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Rape and Torture

scribblinginthemargins's review

adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.75

Last third or so was a bit of a let down but more than worth it for the central concepts around bodily autonomy, feminism and the nature of traumatic memory under oppressive government. I was surprised this is categorizes as YA - it felt very elaborate, nuanced and mature... Until the last 70 pages or so when the character development and jerky plot just became a bit ridiculous?

Still well worth a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Body horror, Addiction, and Trafficking

c_dmckinney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Addiction, Murder, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Alcohol, Death of parent, Child death, Violence, Xenophobia, Confinement, Colonisation, Body shaming, Gore, Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, War, Death, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Torture