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Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War
Moderate: Medical trauma, Colonisation, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Classism
Minor: Infertility, Slavery, Torture
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, War
Moderate: Addiction, Colonisation
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
having read kuang's other work (i.e. babel and yellowface, both of which I thought were brilliant), my expectations for the poppy war were tremendously high. however, nothing could have ever prepared me for how brutal this book ended up being. it's genuinely one of the most horrifying and brutal books - if not the most horrifying and brutal book - I've ever read, and one that will surely stay with me for the foreseeable future. luckily I buddy-read this with a friend, because I need to talk about this book with someone otherwise I'll combust.
it's no secret that kuang's depiction of war between nikan and mugen is heavily inspired by the japanese invasion of china in the 1930s, with specifically the rape of nanjing and unit 731 being significant influences. (chapter 21, which is based off of real accounts of the nanjing massacre, is by far the most brutal depiction of genocide I've ever read - even after reading a chapter summary and skimming most of the chapter, I had to take a break from the book because of how horrific it was. believe me, if you think you'll be okay reading it, you won't be.) although these parts of the book are heartbreaking and gut-wrenching to say the least, I was even more horrified reading this knowing that the atrocities kuang depicts in this book have been experienced by real people.
despite its occasional issues with pacing and characterisation (namely of some of the minor characters, even though I still loved them - I thought the characters of rin and altan were superbly written, and admittedly I have a soft spot for kitay), this is such an extraordinary debut that is certainly not for the faint of heart. everything from the magic system, to the intricacies of this high-fantasy world kuang managed to create, to rin's astounding and meticulously-crafted character arc... this is definitely a book I'll continue to think about for a while.
please check the trigger warnings before you read this. it can get very intense and brutal, and as I've said it is not for the faint of heart. don't be afraid to take it slow with this one because it can get very extreme very quickly.
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
I think the true downfall of the book is that it doesn't ever decide what it wants to be: a sassy, slightly edgy YA or a gory grimdark about the horrors of war. As a result, neither of these competing halves are done particularly well. The plot throws in some of the most clichéd, sometimes downright cringy interactions and plot-points, and then in the next chapter follows them up with horrifyingly disturbing war imagery. It just makes me wonder, who is this book really for? Adult military historical fantasy buffs won't enjoy the shonen-anime meets Marvel-style stuff, but preteens will definitely be turned off by all the rape and war crimes.
The worldbuilding, which was the aspect I was most interested in, is a big letdown. The universe seems less inspired and more directly lifted from Chinese history, more precisely, a mash of the Second Sino-Japanese War and feudal China. I think such a close parallel to history is not only a bit uninspired, but also makes the portrayals of some nations (such as Taiwan) feel slightly inappropriate. On top, the mixing of historical eras leads to wild inconsistencies and anachronisms
And honestly all of this would be fine and I wouldn't mind, if it was in service of a compelling story, or interesting character dynamics, or some sort of deeper reflection on war, but we get none of that. Rin is unlikable, has weird and unclear motivations, and gets fully choked out by
Kuang is clearly a talented, passionate writer and I've heard great things about her other books. But this one didn't do it for me at all.
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Torture, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Drug abuse, Xenophobia