Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park

61 reviews

daria_mm's review

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Abortion

Minor: Classism and Fatphobia

sydneybedell's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Chronic illness, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Fatphobia and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol and Drug use

fatfrog's review

sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Abortion

Moderate: Stalking and Sexual content

cheye13's review against another edition

funny hopeful medium-paced

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

2.0

I can appreciate that this book needed to be written, and I appreciate translations for broadening readers' scope of the world, but it remains that this is a book primarily written for Korean readers. As a translation to English, I wish it was a little more than a stream-of-consciousness, (mostly) low-stakes, fictional memoir. My favorite thing about this book is that Koreans can read a story like this in their native language. Americans (me), on the other hand, have plenty of these.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Abortion

Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, and Sexual content

minor: experience being HIV positive

vladi_in_the_ether's review

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Abandonment

skienight's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Cancer

trix_lyn's review

emotional funny sad medium-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

I’m surprised how low the rating is. I think this is my best underrated book of the year so far. I loved Park’s writing, the characters were hilarious and the emotions brought a little mist in my eyes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Cancer, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Stalking

americattt's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad 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

3.75

“I wonder if that ninety-nine-pound, fifty-eight year old woman staring at the fading firmament was feeling the same way I was. That my life could not be summed up like the neat columns of numbers on a chart, that my life could swerve in an unpredictable direction at any time. That the person I thought I knew best just because we had blood ties could actually be the most mysterious and unknown. That there were times in life when you just have to stop holding on. And that was why the only thing I could do now was to cease all thinking, to simply watch her as she smiled and attached meaning to silly things like the rising and setting of the sun.”

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, and Medical content

Minor: Suicide attempt

lidia7's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Medical content, Abortion, Outing, and Infidelity

Minor: Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, Fatphobia, Sexism, and Classism

annagerman's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

3.0

This book was interesting, unfortunetly it just wasn't for me 😑 
The characters were well-written and authentic. 
The MC's uniqeu voice was definitely the best part of the book, he's flawed, rude and self-absorbed, but also likeable and touching, I couldn't help but root for him.
I really loved the relationships in this book, they were so complex and realistic.
Also I love the depictions of the big city, its energy and presence.

However, the structure and the pacing felt off. It was like a collections of short stories about the same character, but the timelines and emotions didn't always aligne.
I actually had a time getting back into the story after putting the book down, it took me a while to get though it even though it's so short.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Mental illness, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Cancer