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drkng31's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Drug use, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Death, War, Cancer, Terminal illness, Abortion, Addiction, Colonisation, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Bullying, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
spenceee_14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Suicide, War, and Xenophobia
sas_lk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The last third is unfortunately what lost me a little, and it is also why I am giving it 4 stars instead of something higher. At the end it started feeling a little disjointed, like the author lost track of the story a little bit. We were following the POVs of way more characters all of a sudden and quite a few felt pointless - atleast the depth that the author went into. And then it felt like the author added a couple traumatic things to keep the book sad and shocking without delving into these traumatic events. It felt like at the end she was speeding through her writing instead of taking her time with the events and happenings like she did in the first 2 thirds - this made me lose touch with the characters, and I almost felt like I stopped knowing them; like they were different characters than the ones I had been following throughout the whole book.
Overall, a great book, and I would definitely recommend it, I just wish the author had sat with the last third a little longer and not tried to do too much.
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, War, Sexism, Death of parent, Grief, Colonisation, Car accident, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Hate crime, Bullying, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
ainadei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"Go-saeng, a woman's lot is to suffer."
Oddly enough, though this is repeated in the book, there isn't much said about the determination and sheer willpower Sunja had carried within her, her entire life. I truly felt everything; the times I allowed myself to be vulnerable to this book, I found myself shedding a few tears.
A beautiful but harrowing experience.
If you want non-complex characters, a happy ending describing more than survival, or a lighthearted read, stay 50 yards from this one.
Graphic: Cancer, Xenophobia, Child death, War, Suicide, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence, Death, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
gilmargirl's review against another edition
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia
malushington's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, War, Xenophobia, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
magnolia_berry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Racial slurs, Drug use, Infidelity, Murder, Suicide, Bullying, Colonisation, Violence, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Abortion, Torture, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Death, Sexual assault, Slavery, Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality, and War
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Child death and Trafficking
sofireads8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Infertility, Abortion, and Miscarriage
jazzsonnet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, and Colonisation
Moderate: Infertility, War, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Racism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexism, Child death, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Abortion
claudiatralenuvole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Ho apprezzato la maggior parte dei personaggi, soprattutto le donne: Sunja e sua cognata hanno uno splendido rapporto e mi è piaciuto vederle così unite e propositive anche nei momenti più bui.
Amatissimo il personaggio di Isak, meno suo fratello e Hansu, ma interessante la caratterizzazione di entrambi: uomini coreani desiderosi di affermarsi tra i giapponesi. Uno ci riesce, l'altro viene schiacciato. Un parallelismo che segue anche i figli Noa e Mozaru.
La scrittura ha un ritmo molto veloce e parecchi salti temporali anche bruschi (e dunque non sempre apprezzati), ma credo rendano bene il pensiero dei protagonisti nei confronti delle disgrazie vissute: "Non c'è tempo per piangere, dobbiamo continuare a vivere". Ciononostante, in alcuni momenti mi sono sinceramente commossa e ho pianto.
Ho apprezzato tantissimo anche la messa in scena delle due facce della stessa medaglia: il razzismo violento e denigratorio verso lo straniero, e il "razzismo al contrario", la feticizzazione di una etnia come oggetto esotico da collezione.
Unica vera pecca del romanzo secondo me è che talvolta l'autrice si sofferma a raccontare storie di personaggi che poi non vengono portate a termine o riprese. Anche Sunja e Hansu a un certo punto scompaiono dalle scene e se ne sente la mancanza visto che, seppure in senso lato, sono loro i protagonisti principali, da cui la vicenda realmente parte.
Capisco che col progredire della storia va dato spazio alle nuove generazioni, ma si poteva eseguire meglio questo passaggio di testimone.
In generale, un buon romanzo, che forse ha voluto raccontare troppe cose in pochissimo tempo. Mi chiedo come sarebbe stato se l'autrice l'avesse diviso in più volumi. Un ritmo più disteso, e storie più approfondite forse avrebbero giovato alla narrazione, che comunque per me resta buona.
Minor: War, Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism