Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

A Vegetariana by Han Kang

18 reviews

carmentxx's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

i’ve had to sit on this book before i made a review. i’m used to reading bizarre, disturbing and creepy books but this one may take the cake. there is no better way to describe this book other than bizarrely disturbing. 
i was curious to see if we would ever get yeong-hye’s perspective after we got the perspective of the first two men. spoiler- we don’t. it’s just the sister. it’s a bizarre, disturbing account of a woman’s descent into complete and utter madness from the perspective of people around her who may well be slightly mad as well. the book begs the question- how do we know we’re not all really mad in the same disturbing way these characters are? what is madness? what is the difference between madness in men and in women?

the book isn’t perfect. the pacing is kind of weird where some bits are way too slow and some bits are a bit glossed over. but i was incessantly curious about how kang would end the book- and just as i expected, with lots of questions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Grief, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Death, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Self harm, Rape, Sexual violence, and Eating disorder

alygoel16's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Blood, Rape, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Gaslighting

baileyt2424's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Body horror, Confinement, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

cordeliamartin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Self harm, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Moderate: Dysphoria, Body shaming, and Body horror

jay_hobday's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Vomit, Violence, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Infertility, Self harm, and Sexual assault

melashton's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, and Eating disorder

leonormsousa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

REPRESENTATION 

Korean cast, mental health 

QUOTE 

“The feeling that she had never really lived in this world caught her by surprise. It was a fact. She had never lived. Even as a child, as far back as she could remember, she had done nothing but endure. She had believed in her own inherent goodness, her humanity, and lived accordingly, never causing anyone harm. Her devotion to doing things the right way had been unflagging, all her successes had depended on it, and she would have gone on like that indefinitely. She didn't understand why, but faced with those decaying buildings and straggling grasses, she was nothing but a child who had never lived.” 

WHAT I ENJOYED 

• the violence and weirdness → it took me a little aback at first, but I’m here for it!
• the underlying message (and no, this is not a book about vegetarianism)
• the different POVs allow us to see the story from different perspectives but also contribute to the idea that the MC does not have a voice
• it’s a beautifully written book, even when it’s ugly
• the way it stuck on the back of my head and does not let me go
• I know it’s a book that I’m gonna enjoy even more the second time around

WHAT I DIDN'T ENJOY

• very, very minor but there were points, especially in the dreams sections, where it became a bit confusing for me

READ IF YOU ENJOY

• character-focused books
• a dark, bizarre and disturbing vibe
• unhinged women
• hidden meanings
• different views on life
• non-lovable and flawed characters
• underlying critics of sexist societies

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Sexism

kcelena's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

For quality of writing I would give it 4🌟, but I did not enjoy this one. Not enough focus on our main female protagonist and too much focus on justifying men being truly terrible human beings. The second half was slightly better than the first. People with eating disorders should be VERY careful with this - only go into it if you are in a strong and safe place in your recovery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Blood

Minor: Toxic friendship

bananavc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

so difficult to read because it just feels so unbelievable but the way that it's so grounded in reality is baffling. if you're interested in gender and society in the context of Korea, this is a good but difficult read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Blood, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Sexual assault, and Suicide

sambashua's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content