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dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really good commentary and I loved how you could see the main character spiral into insanity throughout the book; but I just couldn’t get past the authors writing. Her style really wasn’t for me.
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
you can tell this was kim’s debut novel. unfortunately, there was a lot of rule bending when it didn’t seem that the fundamentals were understood beforehand - particularly with overuse of rhetorical questions instead of “show don’t tell”, lots of purple prose that somewhat took me out of the story and flat antagonists that i felt could’ve been utilized more effectively.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia
Minor: Vomit
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-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
Love. Love. Love. Love. LOVE. this book. Oh my god.
Yeah there's stuff with eyeballs, but at its' core this book is about Korean lady revenge against white men and really all men, and probably all whiteness. I love lady revenge in every form.
I'm not a big body horror person, so I just skimmed over the descriptions of eyeballs being consumed, and it was still easy to follow along.
I love that there's just an understanding thatJi-won is going to murder these men with no repercussions. The point isn't whodunnit or how she got away with it, but that she's moving in the world having done these violent, but maybe necessary, acts in the first place.
I love the end. I have father issues too.
Yeah there's stuff with eyeballs, but at its' core this book is about Korean lady revenge against white men and really all men, and probably all whiteness. I love lady revenge in every form.
I'm not a big body horror person, so I just skimmed over the descriptions of eyeballs being consumed, and it was still easy to follow along.
I love that there's just an understanding that
I love the end. I have father issues too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Vomit, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a short read that I took longer to read than I hoped for just because it overlapped with socializing on the holidays. I do appreciate feminine rage books and usually enjoy horror/gore, I was very excited for this one based on recommendations I'd gotten. Without spoilers here are some thoughts: I feel this had a slow beginning and I can see how people may be bored and DNF early on. There's nothing super compelling about the MC's narration or life. The MC wasn't anyone I particularly cared for and come to think of it I felt this way for many of the characters. I was mostly apathetic towards Jiwon, (which may have been intentional? Unsure, the author didn't have me often rooting for her despite the obvious reasoning for us to be on her side.) Jiwon just came off as an emotionally immature and kind of jealous, pretentious asshole, especially when viewing her friends and other relationships. A lot of this could've been avoided if she just went to therapy, I get that she was a child of immigrants and her parents obviously weren't going to go be proactive about getting help themselves but for Jiwon and her sister's sake she could've TRIED. There was a bit of victimization on her part despite her "learning" to not think of herself that way and not wanting to continue that cycle like other women in her life. I do wish there were more male figures in her life that didn't suck, this book felt randomly "anti-men" in a similar way to Chlorine by Jade Song. I almost feel that the abuse in her life didn't equate her reaction, which I guess is explained a little bit at the end but I still didn't feel things were justified. Perhaps Jiwon was just a tad of a psychopath at the core or maybe she was always going to slowly unravel this way, up to you to decide I guess. I wanted Jiwon's implied attraction for Alexis to be a bigger point, I wanted her to sit with the possibility of her being LGBT and that maybe impacting her choices as well. I think we barely touched this topic and there was so much potential for their relationship to shape Jiwon's actions. As for the horror elements I think imagery wasn't too graphic and the descent into madness could've been longer, or just better executed. It wasn't super scary at all, or gross at all really, pretty tame on the cannibalism trope unless you're squeamish or new to the genre. I do wish we had a less rushed ending but I understand that it's meant to leave things open ended. Hoping this is a standalone novel and no one requests a sequel, the open ending was a good way to leave things ambiguous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment