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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
อ่านจบแล้วก็ยังไม่ค่อยเข้าใจสิ่งที่ผู้เขียนต้องการจะสื่อ (โดยการแฝงเป็นความนัยตามเหตุการณ์ที่ตัวละครนึกย้อนถึงค่ะ)
dark
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Body shaming, Alcohol
this is gonna be a book i remember for a long time. fucked me up
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
I feel the walls closing in on me. A tense and ominous read!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
The horror here is subtle; it’s a private sort of introverted horror but it’s nonetheless brutal! It’s a quick one too, about 200 pages and is extremely engaging.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
This did not hit me as a horror. I understand it was meant to make you iffy in the feeling of being helpless in the hands of another. Having no say in what is done to you and your own body. And it definitely had me wrinkle my nose in disgust at times. But it didn't leave me as unsettled as I expected it to, I guess??
This was entertaining enough though. Especially the last couple of chapters really picked up the pace.
This was entertaining enough though. Especially the last couple of chapters really picked up the pace.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's the ableism as body horror for me.
But at the end of the day, the translation was excellent, the main reason this is 2 not 1 star. The way the translator was able to convey subtle aspects of Korean culture so brilliantly was honestly masterful. With only a single hiccup where they had to explain the relation between the different meanings of the word chagi.
I'll also admit that there were certainly aspects of this book that I really enjoyed, and that could have made me really love it- the things that kept me from DNFing in the face of the disgusting ablism. Most notably was the way the sexism and also the disintegration of their marriage was portrayed. It was clear if you read between the lines, but subtle enough I could see how it would be missed. But even from the first few pages, the hints are already there. It's how we're led to empathize with Ogi through the terrors he faces when he doesn't even recognize himself as the monster of his story.
But then that brings us to the real issue with the book. The way the real horror is so reliant on the ableism, not in the horror of how another could treat someone this way, but in the horror of losing control of his own body and being at the whims of another. Too often ableism is used as a means of horror, the way a reader can find themself in a state of horror without a monster having to be present. A different level of body horror that I just can't stand. Yes, the way his mother in law treats him is messed up, but its the lack of him being able to do anything as she forces his condition to worsen that makes the reader want him to triumph even as the horrors of his own actions are revealed.
There was so much promise in this book, ruined by the need to make disability horrific. That easy way out used to force a reader to observe a body at not fully functioning capacity in order to make them uncomfortable. That aspect was too much for me.
But at the end of the day, the translation was excellent, the main reason this is 2 not 1 star. The way the translator was able to convey subtle aspects of Korean culture so brilliantly was honestly masterful. With only a single hiccup where they had to explain the relation between the different meanings of the word chagi.
I'll also admit that there were certainly aspects of this book that I really enjoyed, and that could have made me really love it- the things that kept me from DNFing in the face of the disgusting ablism. Most notably was the way the sexism and also the disintegration of their marriage was portrayed. It was clear if you read between the lines, but subtle enough I could see how it would be missed. But even from the first few pages, the hints are already there. It's how we're led to empathize with Ogi through the terrors he faces when he doesn't even recognize himself as the monster of his story.
But then that brings us to the real issue with the book. The way the real horror is so reliant on the ableism, not in the horror of how another could treat someone this way, but in the horror of losing control of his own body and being at the whims of another. Too often ableism is used as a means of horror, the way a reader can find themself in a state of horror without a monster having to be present. A different level of body horror that I just can't stand. Yes, the way his mother in law treats him is messed up, but its the lack of him being able to do anything as she forces his condition to worsen that makes the reader want him to triumph even as the horrors of his own actions are revealed.
There was so much promise in this book, ruined by the need to make disability horrific. That easy way out used to force a reader to observe a body at not fully functioning capacity in order to make them uncomfortable. That aspect was too much for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship