Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

22 reviews

bisexualbookshelf's review

adventurous emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

In her stunning debut novel, C Pam Zhang delves deep into the heart of intergenerational trauma and the intricate tapestry of immigrant experience against the backdrop of the American West's twilight during the gold rush era. How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a poignant exploration of loss, identity, and the quest for belonging.

The narrative follows Lucy and Sam, two orphaned siblings navigating a harsh and unforgiving landscape in search of a place to call home after the death of their father. Zhang's prose is as raw and unyielding as the wilderness through which Lucy and Sam traverse, echoing the emotional terrain they must navigate.

One of the most striking aspects of Zhang's storytelling is her portrayal of the immigrant experience and the toll it takes on individuals and families. Through Lucy and Sam's journey, she skillfully unpacks the complexities of identity, the struggle for survival, and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of a better life.

Zhang's exploration of masculinity, particularly through the lens of immigrant and marginalized communities, is both nuanced and revelatory. She challenges traditional notions of masculinity, exposing its often violent manifestations while also highlighting its capacity for tenderness and resilience.

The novel's thematic breadth is vast, touching upon issues of environmental justice, colonialism, and the legacy of exploitation that continues to haunt the American landscape. Zhang's prose is imbued with a deep reverence for the land and its mysteries, underscoring the interconnectedness of nature and humanity.

This book is not merely a story; it is a meditation on memory, belonging, and the enduring bonds of family. Zhang's narrative unfolds with the grace of a myth, weaving together Chinese symbolism and reimagined history to create a haunting and unforgettable tale.

How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a masterpiece that lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned. It is a work of profound beauty and depth, offering readers a glimpse into characters grappling with the weight of their pasts and the promise of an uncertain future. This is another must-read recommendation for my diverse lit-fic lovers and anyone seeking a poignant exploration of the immigrant experience in America.

📖 Recommend For: Advocates of Environmental Justice, Explorers of Intersectional Identity, Critics of Capitalist Exploitation, Fans of Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half and Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner.

🔑 Key Themes: Intergenerational Trauma, Immigrant Experience, Gender Identity Exploration, Cultural Displacement, Family Bonds, Environmental Exploitation, Colonial Legacy, the Myth of the American Dream.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Gore, and Alcoholism

Minor: Murder, Sexual harassment, Violence, Child death, Bullying, and Animal cruelty

The child death content warning is specifically in regards to a stillbirth.

mighty_lizard_queen's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-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

3.0

A cross of As I Lay Dying and Grapes of Wrath

The book is very good for the first part, but once the father is buried I think it lost its way a little bit. I suppose the father was supposed to be redeemed but I didn't buy it. The ending was also unsatisfying and felt disconnected to the earlier parts of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Deadnaming, Grief, Trafficking, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, Outing, Animal cruelty, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Sexism, Racism, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death of parent, Classism, Physical abuse, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Gun violence

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, Violence, Colonisation, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Excrement, Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, and Rape

brynpemery's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Grief, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Grief, and Abandonment

quiettalker's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative 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

3.5

This was so disappointing. Everything from Sweetwater onward fell flat and felt underdeveloped. It was extra disappointing because the first 3/4 were incredible.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death, Child death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism

Minor: Rape, Child abuse, Animal death, Slavery, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence

tetedump's review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Racism, Gore, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

tfortilney's review against another edition

I’m sorry to do this, and this is by no means a comment on the quality of the novel, only on my personal reading preferences, but I can’t do this anymore.

The concept of How Much of These Hills Is Gold is fascinating. Two Chinese-American siblings, one of them what you’d probably call gender-queer today, fending for themselves in the American West in the gold rush era — There is so much potential here, and I’m sure a lot of people will love this novel.
 
It is, however, not a novel for me, and I after reading more than 1/3  I felt it would be fairer to the book to dnf it rather than finishing it knowing I’d not give it a great rating, no matter how the next 2/3 went. I also want to “allow” myself to dnf books more often because forcing myself to finish books I don’t enjoy only makes me less enthusiastic about reading. 

There’s two main things I struggled with with this novel, neither something I would ever call bad writing, just things I didn’t vibe with. One is Zhang’s poetic, sometimes abstract style which is just not my jam. (By the way, why is the century obscured when years are given (XX42), when, from the way the setting is described, it has to be the 1800s?)
 
The other is the immense amount of various kinds of violence the protagonists, particularly Lucy, experience. I understand that they are realistic for the setting, but I found reading such a bleak story very draining and had to force myself to pick the book up again. 

To illustrate this, here’s a non-exhaustive list of violent events from the novel:

• Physical and psychological child abuse
• Racism, including racial slurs
• Violence against animals, including a man purposefully breaking a three-legged dog’s last functioning hind-leg.
• A grown man hitting on a 12-year-old girl
• Two kids carrying around their father’s corpse for two months, with detailed description of said corpse’s decay

Nope. I’m sorry, but I just can’t do that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Racism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Animal cruelty

ash_ton's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• 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

3.5

read this for LGBTQ+ book club :) it was pretty good! i'm longing for more from the ending though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Addiction, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Child abuse, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, and Physical abuse

Minor: Bullying, Animal death, Child death, Vomit, and Animal cruelty

miscarriage is a stillborn baby

cass_lit's review against another edition

3.25

I know Sam is a child who wasn’t allowed to have a childhood, but I kind of hate them. I know people are complex and not all bad or good, but I wanted to skip Part III because I didn’t want Ba‘s side of the story. I know it’s probably accurate representation of what Asian immigrants/Asian Americans, especially women and girls, faced in that time but I don’t *enjoy* reading about blatant racism and violence (physical and sexual; references and mentions, not on-page). I sped through abuse (animal abuse included).

All in all, I think this is an important read. As with most historical fiction, you get to know people’s stories and histories. As much as I didn’t like Sam or questioned some of Lucy’s decisions, I loved the sibling relationship.  As much as their parents were messed up, I liked the discussions of familial issues and trauma. This wasn’t a time period I’ve read about before, and I certainly wasn’t taught it from an Asian American perspective. It just wasn’t an easy read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Drug abuse

Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Rape

kaneebli's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

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

2.5

very depressing and upsetting historical fiction western that almost ends with a bittersweet, hopeful ending

but at the last second, Lucy decides to sell herself into sexual slavery in order to pay off some wealth-hoarding bastards that Sam stole gold from. and then when she finally gets out of the forced prostitution (after an indeterminate amount of time) Lucy decides to not follow Sam across the ocean after all. and I guess she just stays in the California desert with no friends or family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Colonisation, Grief, Sexism, Death, Animal cruelty, Violence, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Child death, Animal death, Trafficking, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Emotional abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Genocide