Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Jag tar inte farväl

Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Jag tar inte farväl by Han Kang

23 reviews

raekayy's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

jayisreading's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

With dreamlike prose, the highly anticipated English translation of another one of Han Kang’s novels left me in a daze. The plot moved slowly and felt surreal as it shifted from dream sequences to flashbacks to the past. I wouldn’t go so far as to slap the magical realism label to this novel, but there was something about the way Han crafted her story that left the reader hanging between the real and unreal. We Do Not Part was quiet and devastating, but in a way that differed from the haunting quietude that Human Acts had. Much like Human Acts, memory and remembrance played important roles to reflect on South Korea’s tumultuous history during the twentieth century (with a particular focus on the Jeju Island massacre in 1948 for We Do Not Part). Furthermore, Han accentuated this tragedy with one of the characters’ own trauma and memory with it. However, I felt this novel was missing something, perhaps the fact that the characters and the story felt more distant to me, lost in the heavy snow that remained ever-present throughout.

With that said, something about the way this novel was crafted made me realize that I need to revisit it after reading more of Han’s works. I’ve only read The Vegetarian and Human Acts (at the time of writing this review), but I get the impression that she pulled themes and imagery from her other novels for We Do Not Part as a culmination (of sorts) of her commentary on the complexities of being human and the histories we’re inextricably tied to.

I get the sense that I may have missed some symbolism while reading (which is entirely my fault for not reading it consistently), so, again, I’ll have to revisit this novel and see what more I can get out of it.

Content Warnings

gabthebookworm's review against another edition

3.5

dark reflective sad medium-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: Complicated

Content Warnings

frogggirl2's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Stunning, beautiful, human, devastating, haunting. This is a truly impressive work of art. I will read every book this author publishes. Inevitably one of the best books I will read this year.

"No, not just the people who were there, but everyone who’s ever suffered similar fates regardless of place. Hit with bullets, hit with cudgels, lives severed by blades. How agonizing it must have been when it hurts this much to have the tips of one’s fingers sliced off" (p. 41).

Content Warnings

americattt's review against another edition

4.75

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

"In lieu of an answer, I placed my hand over the photo of the bones.
Over people who no longer had eyes or tongues.
Over people whose organs and muscles had rotted away.
Over what was no longer human-no.
Over what remained human even now."

There's something about Han Kang's writing that is simultaneously so haunting and beautiful. I felt the sorrow of the memories of these families who searched endlessly for answers that would never come. I'll always be a fan of her informative and singular writing.

Content Warnings

shoshin's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Dark meditation on the long-term human fallout of a massacre. I've only read one other Han Kang book, but it was the right one because there are several oblique references to Human Acts.

Content Warnings

juditkovacs's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Worth the wait for the translation. And completely deserved Nobel prize.
For those who've read her other books available in English, this is a mix of The White Book and Human Acts. With more of the Human Acts type plot but the emotional atmosphere of The White Book.
At times incredibly creepy, but still calm ghost story. Other times the story of a friendship. But most of all a retelling of some of the most horrible events in the 20th century.
I've read that Kang said after her Nobel win that she didn't want to celebrate the award, with all that's going on in the world. This book is a testament to how she means that seriously, and when she talks about the horrible events in her own country's history she understands at great length.
Very sad and moving, but also necessary read.

Content Warnings

ctrlaultdelete's review against another edition

4.5

Han Kang is definitely back on her Human Acts bullshit with this one (approving). The beauty and profundity and heart rending specificity she is able to conjure from such a vast scale of human suffering is impressive and infuriating. The fingers! The camellias signaling where houses were! All the snow imagery! And the old lady in the mine, my god.

Content Warnings

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK for the eARC! I enjoyed Human Acts from Kang so I was very excited to read more from her.

I loved the vivid descriptions of the snow, which made it feel perfect to read in winter! Kang has a beautiful way with words. Although it could be confusing at times, it often felt like a fever dream with the way some things unfolded.

okay so Inseon is in the hospital but then she reappears? How does our MC hear about this story then? Is our MC still stuck in the riverbed since she’s out in the snow? Literally had no idea what the fuck was happening!!

So I felt like it was going over my head a lot of the time 😂

It also felt like two different books the way it starts versus how it ends. I had a hard time feeling engaged throughout the middle as things dragged with the telling over showing. While I did enjoy the imagery and learning about such a heartbreaking, horrific period in history (to the surprise of no one, once again US military involvement is to blame) I think I would’ve enjoyed the book more had it been more focused?

So to summarize:
-learned new history that I now want to look into more
-love the atmospheric setting/imagery with Kang’s poetic writing
-enjoyed the first and last thirds
-slumped in the middle
-too much telling over showing
-and for those that deeply care: there are no quotation marks for dialogue (I got used to it eventually)

Content Warnings

takecoverbooks's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

We Do Not Part is a difficult book. It’s a story about dreams, about trauma, about family, and most of all about powerlessness. Kahn’s choice to structure the book as a stream-of-consciousness ghost story is unique and compelling, but certainly alienating at times. It’s definitely worth checking out, even if I already feel like I’ll need to read it again soon (and not in a joyful way).

Content Warnings

More...