Scan barcode
whosjessanyway's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Excrement, Gore, Body horror, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Slavery, Animal cruelty, and Miscarriage
ellinda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
It was very difficult for me to get through the stories and after the first 2 I wanted to give up, but I felt like I needed to give the other stories a chance because in a short story bundle you're always bound to have ones you like and ones you dislike.
For me, the only two redeeming stories in this book were the ones titled "Goodbye, my love" and "Reunion". But ever the former of those two felt very predictable without bringing anything new to the table.
It seems a lot of people liked this book just fine, but to me personally it delivered on none of the promises people had made about the book. The stories are not "sick and twisted" and they don't bring anything new to the types of stories they are telling. It had poor prose and some of the writing just felt immature.
Graphic: Slavery, Confinement, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Excrement, Death of parent, Child abuse, Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Suicide
katewhite77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A very strange, scary but never the less thought provoking set of stories each with a moral behind them.
Covering subjects such as beauty, pregnancy and child birth, consumerism, love, revenge, every action has a reaction and the meaning of life itself.
My favourite story Home Sweet Home. A modern take on your classic haunted house. Some stories are purely fantastical in nature while others are slightly more realist. None of these are for kids. Proceed with caution.
Moderate: Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Body horror, Chronic illness, Gore, Slavery, and Suicide
caitlindoesntread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Drug use, Infidelity, and War
laurenvoice's review against another edition
3.0
The Head ⭐⭐.5 - I was not quite sure what to make of this story. I neither liked nor disliked this story; I left it feeling indifferent. However, I have questions about how unconcerned the family was about this head randomly appearing.
The Embodiment ⭐⭐⭐.5 - okay, wow that ending! This story was full of judgmental people judging a situation that had nothing to do with them. Also, whilst reading this story, I realised that no one in this Twilight Zone themed book questions anything!
Cursed Bunny ⭐⭐⭐ - this one had quite a slow start. However, it picked up the pace during the curse part, although the ending to the curse part was quite rushed. The ending to the story seemed meh.
The Frozen Finger ⭐⭐⭐ - this story was a mix of being predictable yet having no clue what was happening. There are a lot of questions.
Snare ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I liked this one a lot. It was gory and weird, which is right up my street.
Goodbye, My Love ⭐⭐ - stories about AI aren't really my sort of thing.
Scars ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 - this is my favourite story in this short story collection. I found this story engrossing and sad. However, I did find the ending a bit weird; nonetheless, I loved the rest of the story.
Home Sweet Home ⭐⭐.5 - not sure what was going on here; it felt like a haunted house story.
Ruler of the Winds and Sands ⭐⭐⭐ - again, this was not really my type of story. However, the imagery used in this story was good.
Reunion ⭐⭐⭐ - this was a ghost story with quite the ending.
Overall, I did enjoy this collection of short stories. Bora Chung tackled the darker themes of her story well and included some beautiful imagery that set the scenes in some of these stories.
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and Excrement
hellokittikovacs'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Animal death, Death, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Slavery, and Physical abuse
sarahsbooklife's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Definitely give this book a read if you enjoyed Kim Jiyoung Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo or Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun.
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Violence
Moderate: War, Sexism, Blood, Suicide, Murder, Infidelity, Death, Incest, Pregnancy, and Violence
Minor: Slavery and Animal death