Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Das geraubte Leben des Waisen Jun Do by Adam Johnson

3 reviews

guinness74's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Terrifying in several ways, the book still manages to evoke sympathetic emotion for many of the characters. It suffers a bit from a collection of unreliable narrators, but gradually I was able to discern the story that Johnson desired to portray. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Gore, Blood, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Kidnapping

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I had to take my time with this one. It was dense, and I felt a lot of conflicting emotions, being Korean myself. I remembered my own introduction to both Korean and US propaganda of the North when I was in middle school and being filled with compassion and so many unanswerable questions. I remember my trip to the DMZ too. So I had a lot to sort through while reading this book. 

It was also one of the strangest and most haunting books I’ve ever read. It will stay with me for a long time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Child abuse, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, Violence, Physical abuse, Classism, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Sexism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Xenophobia, Bullying, Infidelity, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Torture, and War

wifeslife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Police brutality, Torture, Classism, Blood, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Abortion, Death of parent, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Animal death, Confinement, Grief, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Animal cruelty