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scrubsandbooks 's review for:
The Poppy War
by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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:
Yes
This was incredible. This was brutal. This was a book that is worth reading by everyone in the world.
Every character is deeply flawed in that they all do very terrible things. This isn't a book of escapism, and I had trouble getting through some of the events considering a real life genocide going on, but it's super important to read and understand the actual events (Sino-Japanese war) that inspired R.F. Kuang to write this. (And this is her DEBUT, absolutely phenomenal!)
I read the rest of the trilogy not long after this but the first book will always stay with me considering how it started and how it ended. It was like reading two different books which speaks in volumes about how quick and jarring the change to life can be from a heinous war.
It is not a happy book, it is devastating and gut-wrenching, and so impactful. Read it.
Every character is deeply flawed in that they all do very terrible things. This isn't a book of escapism, and I had trouble getting through some of the events considering a real life genocide going on, but it's super important to read and understand the actual events (Sino-Japanese war) that inspired R.F. Kuang to write this. (And this is her DEBUT, absolutely phenomenal!)
I read the rest of the trilogy not long after this but the first book will always stay with me considering how it started and how it ended. It was like reading two different books which speaks in volumes about how quick and jarring the change to life can be from a heinous war.
It is not a happy book, it is devastating and gut-wrenching, and so impactful. Read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, War
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use
Minor: Infertility, Vomit