Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

저주토끼 by 정보라, Bora Chung

73 reviews

kaimju's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Opisem tej książki powinna być długa lista trigger warnings. A tak poza tym, Bora Chung zdecydowanie umie w opowiadania.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gore

Moderate: Miscarriage, Body horror, Excrement, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Car accident

emk5's review against another edition

dark sad tense

3.25

It was certainly cursed?? Mostly just disturbing and unsettling. I tried to add all the CW's but definitely might have missed some. Would not personally recommend this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, and Gore

Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Minor: Incest

sauvageloup's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I whistled through these very disturbing little stories. 

pros:
- they're definitely gripping, and the writing style is sparse but clear and evocative, with the descriptions being vivid.
- the stories felt self contained and satisfying overall, even as many ended in tragedy.
- the last book of short stories I read, i struggled to jump from one story to another, maybe because they were so different and by different people. this one wasnt like that at all, and i had no problem reading straight through, pretty much.
- i liked the variety in length and themes of the stories, from birth horror, to supernatural, to fantasy fairy tale and modern criticisms on feminism and capitalism. i think i mainly read very on the surface and didnt look hard at metaphors and such, a reread might help me see this more.
- I liked the sheer imagination though and how Chung makes you care for characters who often arent even given a name.

cons: 
- the first two stories especially, but a lot of them overall, were pretty horrible and graphic. they did their job in making you feel things! but it reminded me too much of just horrible nightmares and intrusive thoughts and I wouldnt read those two again.
- I also felt there was generally a lack of hope in the stories, but that's personal taste I guess.

overall, well written and gripping but too horror for me and dont think I'll seek out more of her work, but I might reread this in time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Infertility, Car accident, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child death, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Bullying, Medical trauma, Sexism, Violence, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Torture, Pregnancy, Body horror, and Vomit

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

bribellej's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Favorite Short Stories: Reunion, Snare, and Goodbye, My Love
The short stories were very hit or miss for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Body horror, Child abuse, and Violence

dalstellar's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

3.0

so fucked up... memorable tho!

impossible to rate altogether some real hits and misses

fav story: the embodiment
least fav: scars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Excrement, Gore, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Confinement, and Child abuse

Moderate: Ableism, Car accident, Incest, and Dementia

sneakysophster's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

Weird, violent, gross, fairy-tale-esque, existential representations of the patriarchy, relationships with parents, capitalism, and greed. One of my favorite short story collections probably ever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Mental illness, Car accident, Gore, Incest, Suicide, Rape, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Excrement, Pregnancy, Ableism, Murder, Misogyny, and Child abuse

b1gcheeto's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Cannibalism, Murder, Rape, Blood, Violence, and Child abuse

Moderate: Rape and Incest

fe_lea's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

4.25

 
“If I could make one wish 
I want to be just a little bit happier 
If I’m too happy 
I will miss the sadness” 

Cursed Bunny by Chung Bora (translated by Anton Hur) is a solid collection of stories that blends horror, magical realism, and scifi to talk about the real horrors of society: misogyny, patriarchy, capitalism, and greed. 

“You birthed me even when I didn’t want it, and did you not try at every turn to destroy me out of hatred and disgust? What have you given me besides your feces trash? I had to bear all sorts of humiliations and degradations to get what I needed from you to complete a human-like body.” 

The stories ranged from disgusting to darkly funny to fable-like to creepy to sad and all with an unsettling undertone. I have to commend Anton Hur with the translation. The english prose was beautiful and I loved how the tone of the prose changed with each story. 

The book started off strong with The Head, which I nicknamed as the talking poop, and ended on a somber note with Reunion. Both of these were my top stories as well. The former was a grotesque and disgusting (literally) commentary about misogyny. I read this story twice, and I liked it better the second time when I realized the talking poop was representative of how women were treated in society more than the woman in the story - this made the ending more impactful for me. Reunion, on the other hand, had a very melancholic tone to it. It was a sad ghost story that touched on loneliness and existentialism. Stylistically, I think this was the best story of the bunch. 

Other favorites included the titular story Cursed Bunny, which basically had shapeshifting bunnies fighting capitalism; Snare, a disturbing story about greed; and Frozen Finger and Home Sweet Home, both of which got me confused but I loved the eerie undertones in them. 

While the book started strong, my enjoyment started to taper towards the middle to second half. Some were too long like Scars, and others just didn’t have the same impact as the other stories, like Goodbye My Love and Ruler of the Winds and Sands. 

Still, I consider this a solid collection and am looking forward to read the english translation of Chung’s new book that's coming out this year. 

“I could finally understand the horrific and cruel clarity of what he considered to be meaningful. The desperation and immense fear that your life, as well as the future to come, hinged on a moment. I could also understand how, in a situation where there was a single person who could kill you but also save you, all your survival instincts would be used toward satisfying that one person.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Child abuse, and Excrement

Moderate: Misogyny

_lars_'s review against another edition

3.75

This is an absolute vile and incredibly strange collection of short stories. Bora Chung has such a unique voice & deserves so much more attention imo. [3.75☆] 

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'The Head' - 4.5☆
 'The Embodiment' - 4☆
 'Cursed Bunny' - 3.5☆
 'Frozen Finger' - 2.5☆
 'Snare' - 3.5☆ ; this one made me queasy (tw: child & animal abuse, incest, forced c-section, blood)
 'Goodbye, My Love' - 4☆
 'Scars' - 3.5☆ (tw: abuse)
 'Home Sweet Home' - 3.5☆
 'Ruler of the Winds & Sands' - 4.5☆
 'Reunion' - 3☆

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Child abuse

rlhreads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

A hard to read boot at times - definitely one of the most messed up books I’ve ever read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abandonment, Mental illness, Death, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Rape, Slavery, Cannibalism, Child death, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Animal death, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Body horror, and Vomit