Scan barcode
rae29's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
Moderate: Death and Suicide
thatsssorachael's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Rape and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage and Child death
my_weird_bookish_heart's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Chronic illness, and Pregnancy
san_dra's review
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Racial slurs, Bullying, War, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Classism, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Rape
Minor: Mental illness, Homophobia, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Suicide, and Pregnancy
honipoems's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
It’s also interesting to take a look at the women situation. Always the first victims of these kinds of period. « Women have to suffer »
I also like the end of the book, when we have the confrontation of old mind spirit against the one from usa which is more like ours today.
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, War, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, and Sexism
stacylaughs's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.5
I dislike the voice chosen for the audiobook. Too slow, it feels pedantic. As a Korean speaker, the pronunciation of the Korean words and cities are horrendous.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, and War
readingsponsoredbybts's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, War, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Violence, Classism, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Medical content, Deportation, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Police brutality, and Rape
Minor: Drug use, Cancer, and Homophobia
rit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Abortion, Car accident, Miscarriage, Stalking, Cancer, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcoholism, Ableism, Alcohol, Abortion, and Addiction
rieviolet's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
There were just too many characters, especially given that the book already covers a very long period of time and many generations of a family. I really think that some characters were just unnecessary additions and we could have done without their perspectives, so that more space could be given to the main ones. All the jumping between so many different points of view just made it hard to become invested.
Moreover, very big and even traumatic events are just briefly explored or worse just mentioned in passing. This character died, this one entered a relationship , and so-and-so did that, well good for them, am I supposed to care? There is no groundwork, how can a reader get attached to these people and their stories when you as an author have given them so little? Well there was time to go on and on about George Elliot's novels but no time to delve into a main character' emotions, I guess.
I was just not a fan of how the author portrayed the characters, if there isn't a good handling of their depictions then the story just turns into an over-the-top soap opera.
I found interesting the setting and the overall theme (exploring the lives of Korean people and their descendants living in Japan) but I was not that impressed with the execution itself.
For its length, the book is quite easy to get through, the chapters are not too long, the pace is quite fast and the narrative style is readable enough. Still, the writing style is nothing much to talk about, overall it's a bit too much dry and matter-of-fact for my taste.
All in all, the premise sounded good but the book was a disappointment for me and the three-star rating is basically only for the first section, the rest I'm wilfully choosing to ignore.
Graphic: Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Alcoholism, Ableism, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Suicide, Religious bigotry, War, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Trafficking, and Cancer
Minor: Terminal illness, Child death, Physical abuse, Infertility, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Blood, Rape, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Torture, Car accident, Abortion, and Body shaming
oatmilkie's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Child death, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Stalking, Xenophobia, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content