Reviews with content warning for Blood - 파과

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

파과 by 구병모, Gu Byeong-mo

27 reviews

atamano's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-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

3.0

Content Warnings

bookwitchva's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked reading this own voices book from Korea. I’ve heard very high reviews, and I did like the book but I didn’t find it as gripping and fast-paced as I would have expected a book about a hit-person to be. It was pretty dark, and sometimes the descriptions of violence were a bit more detailed than I wanted to envision. The ending was predictable as well.

Content Warnings

internationalreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

bookshelf_al's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

mirr_f's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

jayisreading's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

This was a fun and interesting read from what I normally pick up. What I particularly liked about The Old Woman with the Knife was the particular focus on ageism and sexism, specifically the treatment of aging women, in South Korean society. It was a refreshing change of pace to have an older woman (sixty-five years old) as the protagonist… who also happens to be an assassin. It’s not what you would expect in a book that’s marketed as a thriller, but it was one I welcomed and I thought a lot about the themes.

I will say there were a few things left to be desired in this book. Interestingly, this book could have either benefited from being shorter or longer, depending on how the author wanted to take it. There were a few different plot points that were presented that caught my attention (particularly Hornclaw’s past and her relationship with Ryu), but they were never explored in-depth. As a result, I felt some of this could have been removed altogether to avoid derailing the plot, or Gu could have developed them a bit more. I don’t think it would have made the story unwieldy either and, in fact, would have made Hornclaw’s character all the more interesting and complex.

To end on a positive note, though, I thought the translation was well done. Kim really captured the essence of Hornclaw’s tone and personality in this book, which gets you more invested in the protagonist.

This is worth picking up, just for the uncommon premise. It also isn’t as gimmicky as it sounds.

Content Warnings

hardcoverhearts's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

2.5

Content Warnings

More...