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Graphic: Gore, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia
Graphic: Gore, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment
Minor: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Sexual harassment
the social commentary was easily digestible and profound, but the ways in which the author got the message across felt like she was the one saying it instead of jiwon, the protagonist. while we’re on the topic of jiwon, i found her quite unlikeable but ultimately she’s made to seem normal in comparison to her male counterparts (which are at times cartoonishly evil. there’s no redeeming qualities to any of them which seems like an amateur narrative choice).
i wasn’t the biggest fan of this but i can sense the author has a clear voice and aim with her works already. with another release or two, i feel like monika kim could be at the forefront of the list of top contemporary horror writers, but she needs time to grow as a creative. lots of missed potential here and a clear lack of faith in the audience to understand the metaphors and symbolism - hence the extreme overuse of rhetorical statements.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia
Minor: Vomit
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Vomit, Medical content, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Vomit, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship
However, some parts aren't a part of the "best' in the novel. While the dream sequences help to remind Ji-Won that she is getting consumed by her obsession with blue eyes, they are devices that are overused within the narrative. There is also a plot hole in how investigators didn't question the cop who stopped her while she had her second victim in the car's backseat. Within the ending, there was the inclusion of a brain tumour that could have been used to foreshadow her unpredictable behaviour. However, the diagnosis's inclusion turns out to be random and useless in contributing to Ji-Won's development.
If there is a moment that is the most disturbing in the novel, it would be Ji-Won's killing of her first victim because the last blue eyes that she had come from a dead man. This scene cemented that her urges would override her morality, and they ultimately do as she licks the man's eyeballs and proceeds to try to gorge them out. When her first attempt fails, she accidentally breaks his neck, and after she gets them out, Ji-Won describes the exhilaration of enjoying the content of the meal that came straight from the man's face.
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Stalking
Minor: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Vomit
Graphic: Cannibalism
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Minor: Vomit, Medical content