Reviews tagging 'Grief'

La vegetariana by Han Kang

47 reviews

iseefirede's review against another edition

dark emotional sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

The first part of the book was the most interesting. He was an unreliable narrator to me, as he had obvious flaws that he was completely unaware of. 
The second part I feel had the best imagery. The artist was focused on his work and I liked how it intertwined with the story.
The third part was...strange.

when she was hospitalized

I mostly checked out. There was a consistent downward spiral and it devolved into almost randomness. The ending was very ambiguous.
I had a personal connection with the main character as I'm vegetarian as well. However, there was a lot more going on with the main character. Definitely an eating disorder and probably psychosis. It's not really made clear.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Bullying, Grief, Misogyny, and Self harm

Moderate: Medical content, Vomit, Dementia, Rape, Blood, and Domestic abuse

canonically_k's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

1.75

I didn't get this book. I didn't want to finish this book. It was written fairly nicely (given it was a translation) but there were clearly themes and aspects that I just wasn't understanding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Medical content, Blood, Body horror, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Gore, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse and Vomit

monserrot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Grief, Sexual content, Sexism, Self harm, Mental illness, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Blood, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Confinement, Body shaming, Animal death, Body horror, Animal cruelty, and Alcoholism

frenchvanillapowdercreamer's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Blood, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.75

The Vegetarian is so compelling. It uses the unusual but very appropriate lense of vegetarianism to explore a wealth of other topics, from sexual violence to self-harm to familial abuse. I will have to reread it again at some point, as I definitely did not pick up all its nuances the first time around - it may be short, but it's dense. It is told in three parts, each from a different perspective, and I haven't decided how I feel about the tri-point-of-view yet, which is just about the only thing keeping me from giving it a full 5 stars. Regardless, it is haunting, and my brain will keep wandering back to it, for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Blood, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Body horror, Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

Moderate: Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Animal death, and Vomit

renegadegrocerycart's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Challenging and darkly fascinating exploration of obsession, bodily purity, mental illness, and societal control. It’s very difficult to read, but worth it, I think.

Yeong-hye is reminiscent of Anna of The Wonder by Emma Donoghue in her obsession to purify her body in response to trauma; it’s interesting to read them side-by-side. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Grief, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Rape

All of the aforementioned trigger warnings are integral to the story. If you are sensitive to any of them, consider taking a pass on this story.

sop__'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Grief, Animal death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Sexual content

baileyt2424's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Body horror, Confinement, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

lowpollie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Grief, Misogyny, Self harm, and Rape

Moderate: Sexual content and Ableism

a hard read, but one that lingers with you for a lifetime.

bugfriend's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Body horror, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Sexism, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Self harm, Grief, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Misogyny

Moderate: Physical abuse, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Animal death, and Abandonment

Minor: Confinement and Alcohol