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dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fantastic read! I absolutely devoured it (no pun intended).
Usually books told from the perspective of an objectively bad person end up being really annoying to get through, yet the way the author wrote Ji-Won was so compelling, and her descent felt very natural. I also love the way the author sprinkled in moments from before the book’s events that hint at the fact that she’s always been a little bit unhinged.
The horror and gore in this book is so well-written and this is probably the only time I’ve ever actually had to walk away from a book while reading it.
Using cannibalism as a way to explore the experience of minorities in America— specifically the power structures in play as a first-gen immigrant woman was so unique and perfect.
Also, I’m never eating cherry tomatoes again.
Usually books told from the perspective of an objectively bad person end up being really annoying to get through, yet the way the author wrote Ji-Won was so compelling, and her descent felt very natural. I also love the way the author sprinkled in moments from before the book’s events that hint at the fact that she’s always been a little bit unhinged.
The horror and gore in this book is so well-written and this is probably the only time I’ve ever actually had to walk away from a book while reading it.
Using cannibalism as a way to explore the experience of minorities in America— specifically the power structures in play as a first-gen immigrant woman was so unique and perfect.
Also, I’m never eating cherry tomatoes again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Cannibalism
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Stalking
Minor: Sexual violence
dark
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
you go girl (I think?? maybe?? idk)
Ji-won is unlikable and kind of terrifying--but I still found myself (mostly) rooting for her.
Weird and unsettling--a psychological thriller that leans into body horror and cannibalism, and takes on racism, misogyny, fetishisation of Asian women, and white male entitlement.
Ji-won is unlikable and kind of terrifying--but I still found myself (mostly) rooting for her.
Weird and unsettling--a psychological thriller that leans into body horror and cannibalism, and takes on racism, misogyny, fetishisation of Asian women, and white male entitlement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book as I read it in almost all in one sitting. The way the chapters are written and organized to reveal just a sliver of intriguing information always left me wanting to know more. The pacing and details we very well written and well-placed. Horror is not really my genere, but I really enjoyed this book as it other complex themes(racism, family dynamics in an Asian household, relationships, and hunger) besides the later horror.
I will say some things did suprise me specifically
I will say some things did suprise me specifically
Ji-won is advertised as a serial killer on the blurb, but I felt like she didn’t display the typical serial killer vibes of being heartless, or having a passion for killing, or a specific method of killing. I do understand that her main reason for killing was her insatiable hunger for blue eyes and justice against the racist white men, but I felt the tittle of serial killer wasn’t fully fitting for her. It was more like she killed people because she wanted to eat their eyes. This is not necessary a bad thing, it just struck me as interesting developement - The book had less body horror than I expected (don’t get me wrong there were a lot of eye quivering moments
especially the textures and flavors of eating eyes ). But I expected a little more body horror, and most of the horror was psychological. - I wish the characters were a little more complex/diverse in their portrayal. I understand we see all of them from Ji-won’s perspective meaning we already get a biased view of them, but I felt like all the white men were portrayed horribly/stereotypically
like the guys in the coffee shop, and Geoffrey and George all could be based on real people that Asian have to deal with in their lives, but I feel like other men characters could be portrayed, didn’t even have to be a major character, could have been a barista or a classmate who was nice . I understand it’s important for the feminist message the author is trying to demonstrate, but it would be nice to have a nice example of a white man that could be used to amplify how horrible the other men were.To be fair I understand if there was such character, Ji-won’s hatred for white men would not be as strong probably ruing her character motivations - How funny the book actually was, both in the writing style and the dialogue of the characters. Like one time
after Alexis pointed out to the MC about the strangeness of Geoffrey, the next time we saw Geoffrey she described his eyes as unappetizing rot or something like and I was so thrown aback because in the previous chapter her and Geoffrey were best buds. Girl switched her mind so fast. And the dry humor of Ji-won’s narration was pretty funny. Like the one time where she was late to class and the teacher was giving her a hard time and she was talking about how she ate a homeless man’s eye ball, so sorry she wan’t in the best mood. Like it was quite funny./spoiler>
My favorite characters were Alexis and Ji-hyun because they felt like the most rational and reasonable characters. Also I totally ship
This got me out of a reading slump, would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racism, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, Blood, Stalking, Toxic friendship
Minor: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia
adventurous
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Asides from the gore and the graphic descriptions of murder there's not much else i love about this book. It was a slowburn murder fiction for sure and the lead up was incredibly simple and forward
This was my first korean literature and i have to say it doesn't quite compare to japanese literature for me. It was fine for the most part but at times i find myself getting bored by the predictability
Although the writing is simple and straightforward it definitely was inspiring. I found myself wanting to try fish eyes when i was about halfway through the book so that's a plus for me
But what really broke the book for me was the plot armour. Everything just works out in jiwon's favour in the end and it was really disappointing and lazy
Overall a pretty average book. Worth the read for the description of eye eating alone
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Stalking, Sexual harassment
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
weird, creepy and disgusting. and definitely full of female rage.
loved every second of it, even though I had to put the book down a few times due to the disgusting parts.
the writing was too vivid and I could almost taste the saltiness of the eyeballs on my tongue.
loved every second of it, even though I had to put the book down a few times due to the disgusting parts.
the writing was too vivid and I could almost taste the saltiness of the eyeballs on my tongue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racism, Abandonment
Moderate: Misogyny, Pedophilia, Stalking, Sexual harassment
Minor: Rape
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment
Minor: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Sexual harassment
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Cannibalism, Murder
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The beginning was kinda slow and underwhelming, the book started out like a typical literally fiction, the writing style dry and kinda bland. However, as the story progressed all of the listed above things that bothered me became necessary stylistic choices and helped the atmosphere and the pacing a lot.
I love just the right amount of unsettledness, it was weird enough but never crossed the line into unrealistic or too unhinged (don’t get me wrong, it was unhinged, but compared to other books of a similar genre/vibe it was pretty mild, gross but just enough).
The ending was disappointing though. It felt too logical, too “normal” and didn’t finish the story properly, almost like there was a sequel planned.
Overall I enjoyed the book way more than I expected, I wanted to come back and read more, if not for the beginning and a small part of the end it would’ve been a perfect book.
I love just the right amount of unsettledness, it was weird enough but never crossed the line into unrealistic or too unhinged (don’t get me wrong, it was unhinged, but compared to other books of a similar genre/vibe it was pretty mild, gross but just enough).
The ending was disappointing though. It felt too logical, too “normal” and didn’t finish the story properly, almost like there was a sequel planned.
Overall I enjoyed the book way more than I expected, I wanted to come back and read more, if not for the beginning and a small part of the end it would’ve been a perfect book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racism, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
👏support👏women's👏wrongs👏
Almost everyone in this book is unlikeable, but I didn't mind. The beginning is a little slow, but once the decent into madness starts it doesn't stop. As a squeamish vegetarian, I wasn't super bothered by the pretty descriptive language used to immerse the reader in the main character's culinary experiences throughout the book. The way the author weaves the social commentary on the fetishization of Asian women in America with gore and horror was just, chefs kiss
Almost everyone in this book is unlikeable, but I didn't mind. The beginning is a little slow, but once the decent into madness starts it doesn't stop. As a squeamish vegetarian, I wasn't super bothered by the pretty descriptive language used to immerse the reader in the main character's culinary experiences throughout the book. The way the author weaves the social commentary on the fetishization of Asian women in America with gore and horror was just, chefs kiss
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Racism, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs, Stalking