Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Violets by Kyung-sook Shin

18 reviews

shadannn's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This rating wouldn've been lower if not for the epilogue and author's note. Most of this books was no plot just vibes except the vibes were.. just not it. I can appreciate the author's intent in writing this book, I just think that considering her inspirations, it could've been done so much better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Rape, Child abuse, and Suicide

llams's review against another edition

challenging mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I struggled a bit while reading this. The afterword really helped me understand a bit more. This book is definitely sad and slow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Self harm, and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual assault, Biphobia, and Homophobia

erindb's review against another edition

reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Stalking, Rape, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

katialena's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Mental illness, and Sexual violence

Minor: Kidnapping, Rape, Blood, and Self harm

Major character death? Ambiguous.

ropey's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

5.0

Wish I could read this book with fresh eyes. Something worth revisiting maybe five, ten years from now.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Abandonment

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

1.75

i dont think violets is for me. as a whole, the story and themes of shin's book are v much valid: a tale of a young woman stumbling thru city life, working at a flower shop while still beholden to her past trauma and dealing w/ shitty men.

i think the use of flowers and planting as a metaphor and stylistic tool in the novel's interesting and has great potential, however in its current form it unfortunately skewers the story's narrative form. shin's execution renders the book a meandering slog to soldier thru esp in the beginning, one whose focus shifts between the flowers and san's mental state, and when all's said and done, that doesnt make for an enjoyable reading experience for me, despite how compelling it can be at times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Misogyny

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Infidelity and Terminal illness

hannah_cogo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Death, Sexism, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Police brutality, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Rape

eleniphant's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

• An aching slowburn, perfectly captures loneliness and fear of attachment. Especially aspects of queer loneliness that hit
• For all the girls who felt invisible, shy, overlooked, small- this read very personal to me.
• The translation is gorgeously done
• Heartbreaking, check the triggers for the end- narratively makes sense but this is a hard hitting little book.

😭😭😭 in this book when looking up the flower The words in the dictionary before violet was violent and violate … 
Another definition for Violet:

Also used to describe an oversensitive person, a shy person 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Violence, and Animal death

geeters14's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Self harm

Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, and Sexual harassment

beccaruthe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Rape