Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

12 reviews

rachel101's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Violence, and War

greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a spectacular book. Its lyrical and breathtaking and sweeping in scope. It taught me I know nothing about the Viet Nam war. It's got all of the depth and sprawl of books like 'Pachinko' and 'Peach Blossom Spring' and the epic staying power of novels like 'Homegoing' and 'Infinite Country' and everything Khaled Hosseini has ever written. It was riveting and searing. 

It could also be frustrating; despite how much I loved the book, I often felt like the characters were almost too naïve deliberately so the author could use them as a mouthpiece for philosophical arguments; i.e. Huong being 15 and not understanding what rape is so that the book can make the argument that no one should be shamed for violence inflicted upon them. There were other instances of this that tested believability, but for me it didn't drag down the impact of the novel. I'd recommend this to anyone and it will have a permanent place on my bookshelf and rotation of revered books. 

I will say that I almost, almost knocked this down one star because I thought it was so unbelievably stupid that Tam's grandfather was Wicked Ghost. That was too much for me, too 'connected', and even though it resolved well, I hated it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Cancer, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and War

singout's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Powerful story about three generations in North Vietnam: it goes back-and-forth between a young girl’s experience of the end of the Vietnam war, and her grandmother’s survival of the 1940s great hunger and harsh land reform, with the middle generation being portrayed either as children or soldiers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, War, Murder, Gore, Abandonment, and Body horror

franklola's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Body horror, Death of parent, Blood, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Abortion, Death, and Sexual assault

Minor: Bullying, Violence, Cancer, War, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Child death, Confinement, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness

lenaschrn's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Cancer, Murder, Alcoholism, Body horror, Terminal illness, War, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infertility and Toxic friendship

hrosel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-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

Incredibly moving, particularly knowing that it's based on the author's life experience. I think it did an amazing job at covering some heavy and dark topics in a way that was engaging and didn't back away from the characters' flaws. Although her mother was clearly very damaged from the war, the author still allowed you to feel sympathy for the daughter, who wasn't getting what she needed from her mother. The invaders weren't wholly villainised. An excellent education in Vietnamese history and the ways in which wars damage everyone involved.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Child death, Genocide, and Rape

carlafiorenzo's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Child death, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Racism, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Vomit, Abandonment, War, Body horror, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War

alexhaydon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Miscarriage, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Abandonment

Moderate: Rape and Alcoholism

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.5

I learned more about Vietnam's history through this book, a lot of which I didn't know about including the Land Reform during the 1950s. I enjoyed how the author also integrated cultural beliefs, figures of speech/metaphors, and traditions of Vietnamese people throughout the story. It helped me understand the country and the country's history so much more!

I also loved the switching timelines spanning from 1940s to 1980s, and the different POVs between Huong and Dieu Lan! I took turns between the physical book and listening to it on audio, which I think helped me enjoy the book more taking turns. I was able to focus better on the story and changing timelines with the physical book but I loved the audio for the pronunciation of names, places, and the cultural figures of speech. 

The Mountains Sing was an emotional, heartbreaking historical fiction read. Vietnam has been on my bucket list and this book helped me understand the people and their culture, making me want to visit even more if you enjoy: historical fiction, switching POVs, multigenerational stories, or books filled with hope then you may enjoy this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Grief, Torture, Blood, Body horror, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Abortion, Rape, Abandonment, and Miscarriage

Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide