Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith

18 reviews

amiegold's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I was sure I was going to rate this book lower, but in the last 25% of the book, the author expertly weaved all of the missing pieces to tell a story of colonization, the objectification of woman's bodies and revenge.  And it's all told in the form of a ghost story.  

While I loved the ending, I was restless along the way with the sometimes nauseating and frustrating characters and plot lines.  If you enjoy deep symbolism and dark themes, this may be a good book for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Excrement, Alcohol, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Colonisation, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Cursing

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Gore

sophia_zaytoun_habib's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Violence, Body shaming, Alcohol, Abandonment, Vomit, Gore, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Murder, Excrement, Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Classism, Body horror, and Blood

georgiesutton's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.0

I picked this up because I was interested in a story set in Vietnam and I enjoyed the descriptions and setting in Vietnam, and liked the ghost/spirit element but also that the Fortune Teller seemed to be a bit of a scam.

 I normally like multiple time lines and characters but this was too much back and forth with too long in between timelines to follow and make the connections. Not having dates, just using time before and after, and the sheer number of characters made this quite confusing. I felt there wasn't enough plot or chronology to carry it and I felt that meant some of the connections didn't pack the punch they should have because I forgot who was who etc. 

Most of the characters had no redeeming features although the female experience was centred which was interesting there were so many women I would have liked more of. 

Some of the writing was beautiful but also sometimes dragged with several long drawn out descriptions of unpleasant men getting drunk and making women uncomfortable for no real purpose. 

I'm also really frustrated that

Winnie never realised that she met the two brothers

. 

Overall this was eerie and atmospheric but not enough plot for me with hugely dislikable characters. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Self harm, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Blood, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Sexism, and Sexual content

takemetomilos's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

The ending >>
Also this book was straight up difficult to read, but it was worth it in the end. I’m a big DNF kinda guy, and the multiple time periods and points and views and endless characters in what is a genuinely complex story should have made me want to stop, but the writing itself was just to lyrical to give up. And then in the last third of the book you can’t help but being swept away. Trust the process w this one. Def not a quick read and I feel like I need a book club to unpack everything but I loved it. 
Deserves a revisit. I LOVE REVENGE STORIES❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual violence, Rape, War, Slavery, Colonisation, Death, Confinement, and Misogyny

Moderate: Pregnancy, Incest, and Drug use

Minor: Eating disorder, Vomit, and Animal cruelty

porporina's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Vomit, Alcohol, Abandonment, Body horror, Misogyny, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexism

colubridae's review

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Body horror

Moderate: Excrement, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Incest, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia

ashwaar's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Build Your House Around My Body is, to me, an example of perfect novel construction - an interesting, deeply thematic story where the author trusts us, readers, to figure out what’s going on and even if we don’t entirely understand it, that ends up not mattering because the writing style is so enthralling and engaging.

I’ve seen several reviews saying they didn’t really ‘get’ this book or didn’t understand the end or how the individual stories were connected. Whilst I understand why some people would feel this way, I don’t share these sentiments. All the things listed as negatives in these reviews I thought were absolutely brilliant. I wish more books were written like this instead of the clunky, overly-expositional writing I see in many other novels.

The book alternates between different characters and timelines, and this can be hard to follow, especially at first. However, the storyline is so compelling, and it's really compelling as you start to understand how these different narratives come together. Some of our main characters include Winnie, a 20-something Vietnamese-American who has come to Saigon to teach English; Tan, a corrupt policeman; his brother Long, who works at the school with Winnie; their childhood friend Binh; a fortune-teller and his assistants; a small dog; an old woman selling lottery tickets, and a two-headed cobra.

I thought the characters were a perfect mix of engaging and repulsive. They were all very flawed and not really great people. I didn’t root for them at all which is usually a huge turn-off for me, but I was motivated to keep reading because their roles and stories were so interesting, layered and complex. I think this would be a great book to study in a literature class because there is so much to explore in terms of different themes, including Vietnamese folklore, ghost stories, trying to find belonging in a new country, the treatment of women, and backpacker culture in Vietnam.

In conclusion, I loved this book! I thought it was fascinating, sharp, creepy and highly compelling. I can tell that on re-reading, you’ll notice so much more about the story, and it will be like a completely different experience. It is slightly longer, but I think it's so gorgeously written, and the pay-off is completely worth it. This is a book with so many nuances it's impossible to explore in one review, but the author manages to pull it off expertly in these 400 pages.

Rating: 4.5/5

Read the full review on Bookmarked by Ash or follow me on @bookmarked_by_ash

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

nialiversuch's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Excrement, Blood, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Classism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Rape, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, and Incest

savvylit's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Build Your House Around My Body is a masterful blend of historical fiction and magical realism. Each paranormal element in the book is a visual representation of the ripple effects of the trauma of colonialism and violence. Kupersmith's use of magical realism is done to devastating effect and I certainly won't forget any of her monsters any time soon.

As a whole, this book is a fascinating glimpse into Vietnam, both past and present. Some of the most interesting portions of the book were Winnie's observations of modern ex-pat culture in Saigon. It was no surprise to learn that Kupersmith herself was also an ESL teacher like Winnie. Kupersmith's intimacy with specific stereotypical ex-pats shines through in her written caricatures of Winnie's coworkers.

Ultimately, my only criticisms of this novel would be its length (400 pages) and organization. The timeline jumps so often that it disrupts the flow of the greater story. There are also several characters that readers only briefly get to know. I think that their portions could have been cut back or woven into another character's perspective to keep the book at a more manageable length.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Murder, Classism, War, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Body horror, and Xenophobia

maggies's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I am more glad that I finished this book than that I read it at all. It is grotesque and disturbing, and I was almost constantly nauseated reading it. It wasn’t a positive experience, but it was an amazingly woven tapestry, spanning decades and dimensions, impressively coming together bit by bit. Heed my warning though: gross.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Vomit

Minor: Colonisation, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, and Excrement