cheuksin's reviews
89 reviews

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky

funny slow-paced

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

4.0

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

2.25

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Generally one of the most disturbing books I’ve ever read. I hated every single one the characters

(except lispeth, dibra Agata they were mostly innocent bc as far as I can remember)

. I was told it was weird but wow was I shocked at this true extent of how bizarre and uncomfortable it would be. One of the most in depth books when it comes to critiques of religion, patriarchy and capitalism and just overall so well thought out

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child death, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Animal death, Gore, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Abortion, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Incest

Minor: Excrement and Miscarriage

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

dark emotional informative sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, Death, Child death, Death of parent, and War

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

5.0

This is by no means a light read.
Some parts invoked a similar  level of discomfort as when I read Lolita
Other parts more like the colour purple

Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Incest

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Infidelity, and Death of parent

The Trial by Franz Kafka

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

3.0

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

As I’m writing this, I still have not emotionally recovered from finishing the book like it’s so rich (could’ve been 50 pages shorter. Got boring in the middle) but amazing 
It got a little boring in middle for me but for the last 200 pages I was on the edge of my seat

When robin killed his professor lovevell I was shocked in a good way

The only reason this review isn’t 5 stars

When letty betrayed them and killed Ramy I was heartbroken (I didn’t really care about letty. But ramy was my favourite character 😭😭😭

Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism by Vladimir Lenin, Vladimir Lenin

3.0

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

dark slow-paced

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

3.5

• First time reading a Murakami book , when people said his writing was overly horny they really weren’t joking

• Malta Kano was wearing a trench coat. The lapels were closed tight across the front, but from the subtle fragrance of a woman’s naked flesh I could tell she was wearing nothing underneath.

• It never really explained why toru okada doesn’t speak to his family
• The sexualisation of the 16 year old May Kasahara is uncomfortable 
• At least it didn’t have a Cliff hanger
• “She told me that the baby’s name was Corsica and that half the baby’s father was me, while the other half was Lieutenant Mamiya.” Isn’t lieutenant mamiya an elderly man, also when the fuck did they even meet like did I miss something?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Death, Abortion, and Infidelity

Minor: Rape, Child death, and Suicide