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Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, War
Moderate: Vomit
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Infertility
Minor: Animal cruelty, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Self harm, Vomit, Murder
Minor: Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia
I will start with my favorite part - the characters and their development. Rin, my beloved! After the ending, I am just so scared for her, proud of her, horrified by her, sorry for her, disappointed in her, and astonished by her. There are LAYERS!
Kitay, my sweetheart - I am sorry.
Altan, my broken boy - I am sorry.
Nezha, my rotten egg - I am sorry.
The world-building feels expansive but not overwhelming. It ended the book feeling I understood the country's regions and the other side's army, but knew the world beyond was different. I think she did a great job with making the world feel real without having to plot out thousands of regions and countries.
While this contained a lot of very difficult content (check trigger warnings; a large chunk of the later chapters are based on the Rape of Nanjing/the Nanjing Massacres), Kuang uses these atrocities in a way that does not feel cheap or like it was inserted merely for shock value. It is disgusting, it is horrible, and it is a genocide to the fullest extent of the word. She does not shy away from the awful and that makes the book better and worse all at the same time. Definitely not the book to read if you're prone to looking away - or maybe it is just what you need. I don't know.
Getting into another great area - the PROSE!!! Kuang can WRITE and the work is full of lines that feel like a gut punch or heartache or exhaustion or all of it at once.
R.F. Kuang should be paying for my therapy, but instead, I am going to pay for more books. Ouch, wow, how dare you, thank you, and I am sorry.
Rin - I miss you already and I know you would miss you too, if you could.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Violence, War
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Xenophobia
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism