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cowboyvelma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Excrement, Genocide, Gun violence, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and War
alessamonroe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Torture
valpuri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Police brutality, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Confinement, Child death, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence
Minor: Infertility, Terminal illness, and Cancer
dianapharah's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Is it true that human beings are fundamentally cruel? Is the experience of cruelty the only thing we share as a species? Is the dignity that we cling to nothing but self-delusion, masking from ourselves this single truth: that each of us is capable of being reduced to an insect, a ravening beast, a lump of meat? To be degraded, damaged, slaughter--is this the essential fate of humankind, one that history has confirmed inevitable?
Han Kang explores the aftermath of the Gwangju Uprising and Massacre of 1980 by intertwining various individuals' stories with the murder of Dong-ho, a boy who stayed behind with the civilian militia on the night of military reentry into the city. From the spirit of Dong-ho's friend, Jeong-dae, who was gunned down during one of the early marches, to Eun-sook, an editor dealing with censorship, to a prisoner battling the long-lasting scars of dehumanizing torture, to Seon-ju grappling with strength and weakness in the face of trauma, to Dong-ho's grieving mother who never recovers but most definitely does not go quietly into that good night, and to a writer, held captive by the deceased in his desire to tell their stories and restore dignity to their memory.
I cannot comprehend how anyone can read this book and feel unmoved. Each character presents another outcome of such events, exploring survivor's guilt, personal sense of duty, mob mentality, humanity or lack thereof, and dignity over oneself when all else is stripped away. As we read these different stories and learn what each person has experienced, witnessed, and lost, we are able to create a full picture of who Dong-ho was, who he could have been, and what was stolen from him as well. Definitely teared up a couple of times.
A very important read so as to not let the voices of the dead remain suppressed by those who which mean to inflict pain for their own gain. Such an event was not the first of its kind, and it was not the last.
“Gwangju" had become another name for whatever is forcibly isolated, beaten down, and brutalized, foro all that has been mutilated beyond repair. Gwangju has been reborn only to be butchered again in an endless cycle. It was razed to the ground, and raised up anew in bloodied rebirth.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Infertility and Suicide