Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

67 reviews

bitchywitch's review

dark emotional sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

The first part of the book was the most interesting. He was an unreliable narrator to me, as he had obvious flaws that he was completely unaware of. 
The second part I feel had the best imagery. The artist was focused on his work and I liked how it intertwined with the story.
The third part was...strange.

when she was hospitalized

I mostly checked out. There was a consistent downward spiral and it devolved into almost randomness. The ending was very ambiguous.
I had a personal connection with the main character as I'm vegetarian as well. However, there was a lot more going on with the main character. Definitely an eating disorder and probably psychosis. It's not really made clear.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Dementia

canonically_k's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

1.75

I didn't get this book. I didn't want to finish this book. It was written fairly nicely (given it was a translation) but there were clearly themes and aspects that I just wasn't understanding.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Body shaming, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse and Vomit

monserrot's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

frenchvanillapowdercreamer's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.75

The Vegetarian is so compelling. It uses the unusual but very appropriate lense of vegetarianism to explore a wealth of other topics, from sexual violence to self-harm to familial abuse. I will have to reread it again at some point, as I definitely did not pick up all its nuances the first time around - it may be short, but it's dense. It is told in three parts, each from a different perspective, and I haven't decided how I feel about the tri-point-of-view yet, which is just about the only thing keeping me from giving it a full 5 stars. Regardless, it is haunting, and my brain will keep wandering back to it, for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, and Vomit

renegadegrocerycart's review

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Challenging and darkly fascinating exploration of obsession, bodily purity, mental illness, and societal control. It’s very difficult to read, but worth it, I think.

Yeong-hye is reminiscent of Anna of The Wonder by Emma Donoghue in her obsession to purify her body in response to trauma; it’s interesting to read them side-by-side. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

All of the aforementioned trigger warnings are integral to the story. If you are sensitive to any of them, consider taking a pass on this story.

sop__'s review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief

baileyt2424's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

emototronic's review

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, and Grief

Moderate: Ableism and Sexual content

a hard read, but one that lingers with you for a lifetime.

bugfriend's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, and Abandonment

Minor: Confinement and Alcohol