Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

2 reviews

kalira's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Ken Lie has a brilliant approach to weaving together history and realism with fantastical/speculative fiction elements, drawing it all into poignant and deeply emotional relief.

It took me a long time to read this anthology, largely because the stories are very good . . . and sometimes, so painful and heavy and immediate that upon finishing I needed to set the book aside and take some time. Both to process the story and to give myself a little emotional space to breathe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Child death, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Gore, Trafficking, Vomit, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Death, War, Alcohol, Colonisation, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Chronic illness, and Grief

annaluzia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think this is one of the most impressing books I've read in a very long time. the experience reading this was indescribable, I don't even know where to start. maybe by rereading it again and again 
I think the themes of communication, story telling and heritage are some that I really love to read about. I also loved how Ken Liu obviously did his research on some of the topics - I am now really interested to know more about them.
some stories (especially the last one!) made me want to throw up. some were sad. some were really interesting thought processes. all in all, I can't say anything else about this book that that reading it was an experience (and that maybe you shouldn't do it like me and plan to read one story each before going to sleep - that's not going to work for different reasons) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia