Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Silence of Bones by June Hur 허주은

3 reviews

hoax_meal's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

easily the best book I read this year. I couldn't put it down. And when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it. An amazing mystery and loveable protagonist. I also learned a lot about Korean history. If you like historical fiction and mystery, you will love this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Child death, Blood, Child abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy and Colonisation

aarynn's review

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

Beautifully written, totally enveloping. Tragic story but wonderfully told.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Religious bigotry, Death, Hate crime, Medical content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Torture, and Slavery

Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicide, Infidelity, and Police brutality

plumpaperbacks's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-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? No

4.0

This was one of the most interesting historical fiction novels I’ve read, as, if I recall, it’s the only one not set in a western country. I’d never heard of damos, so in addition to reading an intriguing story, I also learned a few new things.

Hur’s writing was easy to read, and the combination of that and the surprisingly complex mystery kept me turning pages. What seemed like a simple murder case ended up being a complicated one of religion, family and shame with multiple victims, and even though I thought more than once that I’d figured it out, I never had. Props to Hur for that, as I’ve gotten pretty good at predicting twists and solving mysteries.

Another thing I particularly liked was that Seol, the protagonist, was sixteen. While this is ultimately insignificant, it was nice to see a YA book with a main character under the age of seventeen; I can only think of a couple others that do.

Overall, I would recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Representation

• full Korean cast

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture

Minor: Infidelity and Suicide

Those tagged minor happened prior to the story but are mentioned occasionally throughout.