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yellowatelier'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
5.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Cancer, Outing, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Alcohol
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, and Cancer
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
my caveats w/ the novel are its timeline and structure which are confusing at times, and the lack of continuity in characters and points of conflict between all the parts. for the latter, young's strained relationship w/ his mom is an example, as well as jaehee, who for such large a presence she has in young's life initially, basically disappears like 1/4 of the way.
aside from the aforementioned, however, i enjoy all other aspects of the novel. this book is funny and can be endearingly sweet, while also being scarily realistic in its depictions of struggles for one's dream, career, and everyday life. the bangkok setting later in the book's also delightfully surprising, and it's great seeing places from my own life feature quite prominently in a book i rly like.
the main character young has me endlessly rooting for him as he grapples w/ love and life, made doubly more complicated by his queer identity, and w/ reveals that shed more light on him in every part. there are no stereotypes and caricatures here, instead park delves into issues rarely touched upon - a minority w/in a minority - w/ young's HIV+ status and the normality yet ramifications of it, hampering young's life in frustrating ways.
what touches me most is perhaps young's relationship w/ gyu-ho, filled w/ both drama and mundanity that's multifaceted and refreshingly non-toxic. the naksan park scene is one that will stay w/ me, brimming w/ empathy and love. and although the ending is quite melacholic, i like the ambiguity of it. this book squeezes and fills my heart, and i sincerely hope more of park's works will be translated in the future, bc i for one cant wait to read them.
Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Abortion, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death, Fatphobia, Car accident, and Abandonment
internationalreads'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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, Outing, Terminal illness, Car accident, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Cancer