Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

5 reviews

phantomgecko's review

emotional sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

Intriguing historical fiction. Depictions of the customs of the time are fascinating. Foot binding, marriage tradition, family structure.

Kind of reminded me of Atonement by Ian McEwan. Y'know, protagonist makes a mistake to the detriment of a loved one that haunts them the rest of their life. This affected me more emotionally, but that's due to any number of circumstances.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Body horror, Classism, Death, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness

galoshes's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

I debated giving this book five stars. I liked the first third of the story that dug deep into childhood. The middle seemed to rush through life moments; at times it felt like reading a timeline rather than a story. The story is told from the perspective of the narrator as an old woman, who constantly reminds us that things will get worse. The persistent "if only I knew then how bad things would get" started to feel like a tirade. I'm not a fan of the strategy of only naming characters that are important. There are so many characters that are only named by their relation (aunt, uncle, third sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, many many more in-laws) that at first I assumed it was a strategy by the author to draw attention only to named characters, but after finishing the story I feel like the narrator simply didn't care to learn their names and this was intentional. The characters only existed in relation to her, not as individuals. The narrator is believable, relatable, and lovable, but she says and does things that seem entirely justified in the moment but are ultimately selfish and cruel.

The end of this book, and knowing the end reflecting on the rest, clawed out my worst fears about myself. I'm reading this at exactly a time in my life when I need it. I didn't love this story, at times I hated it, but it forced me to look at my own life in another perspective. The detached way the narrator thought of and treated other people, and the visceral descriptions of body horror both in foot binding and death, seemed to congeal into one horrific mass that I won't forget. I felt ugly, but also hopeful that it's not too late. Other books I've kept on my shelf because they make me happy. This one is a reminder and a warning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Domestic abuse

mergwenthur's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.5

where do i even begin with this review! i loved this book, it was so beautifully well written. 

i read the journey of lily through her childhood to her old age and viewed her relationship with snow flower and how both of them developed individually and as same-olds. 

set in mid-1800s i read as lily and snow flower dealt with things such as footbindings, tragedies, love, death, marriage and children. 

cultural and society traditions were adapted and the challenges lily and snow flower went through were eye opening. 

it was a beautiful yet tragic story which leaves you with so many emotions

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, War, Violence, Miscarriage, Medical content, Grief, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Body horror, Child death, and Classism

thejediwitch's review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.5

This book is intense. It took me a whole day to finish but it was very worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Grief, Child death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, War, Suicide, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, and Miscarriage

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Body shaming

snomainu's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Child death, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Misogyny, and Miscarriage

Minor: Suicide and Death of parent