Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

61 reviews

agnesg's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Colonisation, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Torture, Rape, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

kasey_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Death

alayamorning's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-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: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Excrement, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Miscarriage, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism and Cancer

nkoedyker's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Rape, Torture, and War

wackly93's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Child death, Death, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

pavonini's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Really interesting book. I learned and felt a lot reading it. Would recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Animal death

bwwilhelm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-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

5.0

HEED THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. This book is emotionally engaging, but I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone. It deals with war from the viewpoint of a young woman on a small island. Things get gruesome, and graphic in parts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Child death

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

This book talks about the horrors of war, REPEATEDLY. Do with that information what you will. Specific trigger stuff in spoiler text.

About halfway into the book, Young-sook's entire village is herded into the local school by armed police. Some villagers are tortured, and Young-sook's husband, son, and sister-in-law are killed. It is GRAPHIC. Also, near the end of the book, Mi-ja goes into semi-specific detail about everything her husband did to her. Not incredibly graphic, but still made very clear. R*pe, police violence, colonization, etc, are mentioned throughout, pretty much from the beginning of the story, but it's generally very matter-of-fact with little to no details.

horizonous's review against another edition

I'm just bored by the repetitive descriptions of daily tasks on land and in the sea.. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Colonisation, and Violence

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.5

• “Every woman who enters the sea carries a coffin on her back. In this world, in the undersea world, we tow the burdens of a hard life. We are crossing between life and death every day.”

• “With arranged marriages, many wives fall in love with their husbands quickly. For some it can take years. And for others, decades of marriage will always be filled with loneliness and sadness . . . How different it is with friendship. No one picks a friend for us; we come together by choice. We are not tied together through ceremony or the responsibility to create a son; we tie ourselves together through moments. The spark when we first meet. Laughter and tears shared. Secrets packed away to be treasured, hoarded, and protected. The wonder that someone can be so different from you and yet still understand our heart in a way no one else ever will.”

• “We thought we were free, but so far the only difference in our lives here on Jeju was that the Japanese flag was lowered, and the American flag was raised. One colonizer had been replaced by another.”

The Island of Sea Women is a profoundly sad, but moving, and very well-researched, work of historical fiction. The sea women of Jeju Island will stay with me for a very long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, and Police brutality

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, and Vomit

elchiang78's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad 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: Sexual assault, Violence, Colonisation, Pregnancy, and Torture