Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - Kim Čijong — ročník 82

I was blown away by this. It was eye-opening, infuriating, depressing, and intensely relatable at times. I've been reading a lot of South Korean literature this year and this informative stance really helps to contextualise a lot of situations I've read about. It's troubling to know that women experience similar issues in South Korea as in Britain but, seemingly, to a larger degree, especially when it comes to workers' rights and childcare. The empathetic look the author took to Ji-Young's experiences of harassment and inequality was very validating as well. I try not to think of how many of us as women have experienced sexual assault or threats as the scale is depressingly vast. I don't even know if I would want to read any more of Cho Nam-Ju's work as it seems to largely centre around those issues and it's just too upsetting.

Content Warnings

miayukino's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

I want to scream. I’m going to scream. We should all be fucking screaming.

Content Warnings

tessalovespanda's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The ending is weird with perspective shift. A different lense to womanhood from a different culture. The article referring makes sense now with the ending. Relatable as a woman and very poignant to the reality of women.

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clovetra's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

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

3.0

i’m very conflicted on this book.

i want to say in no way shape or form do i want to criticise what the author wrote. i think raising awareness to the misogynistic culture of south korea is necessary, and the way it was done truly made me feel immersed in what it is like to be a woman in south korea.

i do think this book is necessary, especially considering the 4B movement has reached the west (as in, the knowledge of its existence in south korean culture).

purely from a reader’s perspective is why my star rating is so “low”.

this book kinda reminds me of a woman is no man by etaf rum, in that it’s:

truthful, raw story adapted for “entertaining” purposes but could realistically be a real person’s life
repeats the same themes & message surround misogyny without any new takes, going on and on with the same content
incredibly disheartening to read as it feels like torture porn & gives you zero hope
becomes stagnant around the middle of the story
has an anticlimactic ending that slightly infuriates you (this “infuriating” comment more so applies to this book, whereas a woman is no man was solely anticlimactic)

also with a woman is no man, i feel scummy writing this review & giving negative feedback surrounding lives women very likely are actually living in the real world whilst i sit here prim and proper, not having to worry about if i will be discriminated against if i have kids (i won’t) or told to “suck it up” with workplace harassment.

i think i also went in with the wrong expectations - i expected the story to more heavily explain *why* jiyoung now channels women of her past. all i got was roughly ~30 pages of this which was probably the most disappointing aspect of the book for me. but i don’t really think i can hold this against the writer tbh - yet again my expectations for a book are out of wack 💀

like a woman is no man, i do think everyone should read this. i just don’t particularly “love” books about misogyny because u know…. i read to escape the real world…. i get enough sexism from existing thank u very much!

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jetix's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

this book should be required reading imo.

Content Warnings

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Still a 5 star slay

‘The world wants our uterus to be drug-free. Like sacred grounds in a virgin forest.'

‘The girls stowed away repulsive, frightening experiences with males deep in their hearts without even realising it.’

'The world had changed a great deal, but the little rules, contracts and customs had not, which meant the world hadn't actually changed at all’

‘Do laws and institutions change values, or do values change laws and institutions?’

‘People who pop a painkiller at the smallest hint of a migraine, or who need anaesthetic cream to remove a mole, demand that women giving birth should gladly endure the pain, exhaustion and mortal fear.’

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daradactyl's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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