Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

1633 reviews

mmccombs's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Truly devastating and absolutely captivating to read! I loved Babel and had this sitting on my shelves forever, I think intimidated by how much I hoped to love it, and after finally taking the plunge I was rewarded by an equally rich, nuanced, and beautifully written story (and a debut no less!).

 I knew vaguely that this book was based on real Chinese and Japanese history, but had no idea how deeply it drew from the Sino Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre, which compels me to know more about this time in history (whenever a book makes me want to read more, particularly to seek out nonfiction, that is a huge accomplishment!). Obviously, because of this history, this book got dark and gruesome and hard to read, but I think Kuang included these parts (particularly chapter 21) tastefully and with a hope for the reader to understand the brutal gravity of war and informed Rin’s complicated response to it.

Rin’s character is so moving, I was prepared for a “morally gray” character but I think got so much more than that. She is funny, furious, sharp, naive, scared, brave… the list goes on, and I can’t wait to continue her character arc. I loved watching her, and the people around her, wrestle with history, with evil, with what one should do with power, and what one owes to their country. This touches on colonialism and racism in a way I think Kuang expanded upon and did much more interestingly in Babel, but it was cool to see those roots here. 

I cannot wait to talk about this one in my bookclub, I think this will make for a great conversation, and I equally cannot wait to get into the rest of the series!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Drug use, Torture, Addiction, Colonisation, Violence, Rape, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Racism, and Murder

_marycappiello3's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Murder, Rape, Violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Torture, Animal death, Death, War, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, Body horror, and Child abuse

rakkaussipsi's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Rape, Torture, Violence, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, and War

lindsaybethlyons's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gore, Death, Child death, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

rosesread2's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Death, Drug abuse, War, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture

Pleas check Trigger warnings in this book. Very descriptive about some very serious topics.

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Animal death, Gore, Colonisation, War, Racism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Torture

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Grief, Drug abuse, Sexism, Child death, Self harm, and Sexual violence

Minor: Bullying, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Vomit

sipteareadbooks's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, War, Torture, Genocide, and Rape

acelestialplain's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, War, Rape, and Body horror

kendall32's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Rape

andreapepsii's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Rape, and Torture

Moderate: Racism