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raquelmozart_123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Suicide, Murder, Abandonment, Stalking, Rape, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Sexism, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Excrement, Alcoholism, War, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Child death, Classism, Chronic illness, Gore, Confinement, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Incest, Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, Child abuse, Misogyny, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Body shaming
joygarcialim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Rape, Racism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Abortion, Cursing, Genocide, Mental illness, Trafficking, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Incest, Sexual assault, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Grief, Police brutality, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content
acecatlady's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Not for the faint of heart. It is a fantastically raw magical realism take on colonialist and post-colonialist violence. On the horrors of humanity. But it can also be flippant and funny. A lot of very time-specific stuff and culturally specific stuff that if you've spent time in SE Asia are interesting to read like this.
I think people really focus on the male/female aspect of this, and I get that, totally. Sexual assault and rape and love or desire as a sickness are a big part of it, but you really can't ignore the colonialism inherent in the story. It at the very foundation of the curse.
Honestly, a lot of modern western horror WISH it went this hard. If you have triggers? Make sure to check the content warnings cuz this book has all of them.
Graphic: Suicide, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, War, Abortion, Confinement, Genocide, Incest, and Rape
shainalite's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide, Deadnaming, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Vomit, Body horror, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and War
iellv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Don’t go into this expecting something truly profound. I made this exact mistake maybe 75% of the way in (it took forever before I could force myself to pick this up again, so I forgot how to read this book) and would have dropped the book if I hadn’t bought it. Once I accepted that it’s an epic and would have to endure the same amount of rage, disgust, and amusement I feel from reading myths and folk tales, I bumped this up from 2.8 stars to 3.0. (Edit: nvm lol I got a bit angrier bc I thought abt it again 😭 back to 2.8 stars)
As an epic and as a look into Indonesian history and colonialism, this really delivered in the first half. I was floored by the many similarities between Indonesian colonial history and Philippine colonial history (hence why a good chunk of this book reminded me so much of oro, plata, mata). We lost some of that fire, wonder, and comedy in the latter half. The book lost some of its focus—or maybe I should say it didn’t do very well with its main theme.
It was very male-centric, which isn’t surprising if you think about it, but given the main theme of the book? Given everything Dewi Ayu as a character represents and criticizes? It made me angry to see how much the stories sympathized with the male characters (who were all rapists and pedophiles btw) and how some of them even got their happy endings. A good bulk of the book focused on them, whereas the women suffered like 98% of the time. I didn’t mind at first, but eventually it just became gratuitous, as it really felt like the author never afforded the same level of attention and sympathy to the women. Which is absolutely crazy to me. In the end, any attempts at examining their fates or criticizing the world around them were relegated to single sentences (at least, after Dewi Ayu’s arc, which was appallingly short when you consider the rest of the book) or at best, two pages. I can find more if I dig harder, but if I have to dig harder when it comes to a theme, was it really done effectively?
Whatever. The more I think about it, the angrier I get, but I can’t bring myself to give a lower rating.
So even if you’re on the fence about the book, I still recommend it. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this book was great, personally. It is what it is. If you can stomach the things men get up to in myths, then by all means dive in. I can’t—not without something to punch or someone to complain to—so that sentiment definitely affected my reading experience.
Last warning: since it’s so male-centric and they throw the concept of rape around like it’s practically nothing, the messaging gets REALLY REALLY off at certain parts, esp in the latter half. Please tread carefully. While I do think we can attribute that to the men themselves, given that there’s little to no significant thematic resolution for the women (if there was one it was incredibly weak), the justification and normalization rape can be VERY distressing.
And imagine my horror (and eventual resignation) at finding out “Beauty Is A Wound” was quoted by Krisan, the rotten cherry on top of this shitcake—no offense to Eka Kurniawan. I still think the author has a lot of truly brilliant moments in this book, and though I’m glad it exists, I still would like come compensation for powering through this. And for realizing we were ending the book with Krisan. Krisan!
Special mention: Comrade Kliwon. You were surprisingly a joy to read and identify with. If only you didn’t stiff prostitutes, treat them so shitty, annoy the hell out of Dewi Ayu, groom two girls, and kidnap one of them.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, War, Child death, Sexual violence, Suicide, Colonisation, Incest, Misogyny, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment
issyd23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Infidelity, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Rape, Excrement, Gaslighting, Genocide, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, War, Grief, Murder, Violence, Racism, and Self harm
liagatha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and War
sneako's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Animal death, Slavery, Sexual assault, Racism, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship