Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Silence of Bones by June Hur 허주은

19 reviews

noellelovesbooks's review

5.0

 Content Warnings: murder, death, blood, gore, sexism, religious persecution, torture, and some body horror.

Wow...just another book I should not have left sitting on my shelf, unread, for so long.

As a big fan of historical kdramas [though I don't watch them often since they will emotionally eviscerate you and leave you an empty shell...flashbacks to watching my first historical kdrama, Ja Myung Go, years ago 😭] I was excited to dive into this story as I heard that June Hur wrote really amazing historical Korean stories...and this one did not disappoint.

We get to follow a young woman who's a police indentured servant for the remainder of her life...someone who is deeply curious in a time when women, especially servants, aren't supposed to be quite so curious.

If you've read The Apothecary Diaries manga...it's giving a little Maomao but darker...

Honestly just a really great freaking read and I look forward to reading more of June Hur's historical Korean stories! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Death, Blood, Body horror, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Torture

Minor: Suicide

kitkattom10's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

0.5

It's a bit crap. Too chaotic. The writer thinks her audience is dumb and over explains everything like a bad sitcom. Novels aren't her medium, she has good ideas for screen but she writes them in novel form which doesn't suit. You can feel that she is writing with the purpose of the book getting optioned which makes the reading not at all enjoyable. We read this in my book club and everyone agreed that the concept was good but the execution was TERRIBLE.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Torture, and Murder

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

karin_goodreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"The Silence of Bones" is set in Joseon Dynasty-era Korea and follows a 16-year-old servant, Seol, who works in the police bureau. The book unfurls a heartbreaking story about Seol’s involvement in investigating the murder of a young noblewoman, the political situation in Joseon at the time and the complex situation regarding Seol's search for her older brother. 

There is one lesson all who enter the capital will learn: evil comes from the unfulfilled need for significance.

What a whirlwind! I started reading this many moons ago, but just now returned to it. What was the problem that I left it unfinished for so long and then picked it up and finished it in a day? The first part of the book was a little slow, and my interest was elsewhere, but recently it became interesting again and I devoured it within an evening.
Honestly, I don't remember everything from the beginning, but enough to make sense. Nevertheless, the ending was excruciatingly painful and action-packed, every sentence kept me on my toes.

This is the consequence of the clash of old and new. We must prepare our hearts, all of us. No matter which side wins, we will all be heartbroken.

Where is the lie? I was bawling my eyes out by the end. It hit so deep and brought up some raw feelings that came out of nowhere; props to June Hur! It's palpable how much work has gone into the research and details of the story. I find it nice that the ending was left sort of open-ended.
Despite that, there's much left to process. I do hope that Seol finds that home and place of togetherness one day. Pity.

Everyone dies; what is difficult is a meaningful death.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, Sexism, and Classism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Torture

Minor: Slavery, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Death of parent, Suicide, Abandonment, and Grief

mnatale100's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Hate crime, Violence, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Child death, and Murder

Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, Blood, Alcohol, and Medical content

jamielikestoread's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Violence

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Sexual assault

clone's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Misogyny

jveevers's review

informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

katiemcgregor's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

There was a point where I actually considered 'dnf-ing' this book... and that's something I rarely do. Honestly, there isn't much inherently wrong with The Silence of Bones but, for whatever reason, I was really bored in the first half of the book. I think the main issue lies with the fact that I never grew especially attached to any of the characters. I don't know if this is just a me thing or if it has to do with Hur's writing.

Luckily, things picked up in the second half so even with my lack of attachment, I became more interested in the plot. While I was able to predict who the killer was around the 45% mark, this didn't really hinder the rest of my reading experience since there were so many other things also going on at the same time (at least, after the slow start).

This is my first time reading a book that takes place during the Joseon dynasty so that was definitely fun (my previous knowledge is limited to what I've seen K-dramas), but in the end this book fell a little flat for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Pregnancy

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