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annaluzia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
lish_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The author uses statistics with citations to proof her point and to show, that the story of Kim Jiyoung isn’t uncommon. A lot of the experiences the main character has aren’t specific to South Korea and happen to a lot of women around the world. When I talked about this book, sadly a lot of women could relate and experienced something similar.
A hard-hitting book that I highly recommend.
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Medical content, and Abortion
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion
words_and_coffee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Abortion
Minor: Body shaming, Miscarriage, and Suicide
thepassivebookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
There's a lot to unpack here. I thought it would be a quick read because of the length, but I found myself taking breaks in between the chapters. Throughout the book, we see the protagonist dealing with the underlying misogyny from childhood to her adulthood and marriage, and Cho Nam Joo does a good job depicting how relentless it can feel. I think the big takeaway here is how legislation aimed to promote gender equality is a step in the right direction, but isn't enough. There were moments in the story where it breaks from the narrative to give statistics or background on what was going on in South Korea, which I found distracting at first but it makes perfect sense now after reading it, for a few reasons.
I'd recommend this to anyone looking for examples of feminist literature, particularly translated works. What's brought up in this book is worth talking about because of the issues being so universal.
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Body shaming
the_literarylinguist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Abortion
akadie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Minor: Body shaming and Abortion
lauralaurens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Abortion
spellboundchapters's review against another edition
- 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
Reading this book, I was sometimes annoyed at the events, but mostly sad and angry. Although it takes place in Korea, and some things are specific to what Korean women experience, majority of the things are pretty universal and will speak to women all around the world. It covers a variety of topics, from the different treatment of male vs female foetuses (which made my blood boil), and then of boys vs girls at home between siblings, or at school (e.g. girls have more rules concerning their outfits as boys) ; street harassment ; victim blaming ; job discrimination ; salary inequality ; maternal leave ; new technologies bringing out new ways to make places feel unsafe for women...
I was wondering why the tone lacked so much emotion, but at the very end it all made sense (it was like an unexpected plot twist lol).
What I loved the most about this book is the fact that the protagonist wasn't "the woke one", it was just an ordinary girl/woman and that makes it even easier to relate to her. I think it's the case for majority of women to not question gender inequalities when growing up and that it's not something that comes "naturally" when being raised in an environment where we're being told that "it's just how things are"... And that's exactly what happens in this book. (idk how much of what follows is considered spoilers, so i'm hiding it just in case you wanna go in this book completely blind)
Another thing I liked is that Kim marries "one of the good ones", to show that yes, life at home is easier than if her husband was an absolute misogynistic jerk, but at the end it doesn't change that much things in her everyday life... She is still the one having to quit a job she loved against her will and then being judged for it by society.
I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone. It's books like these that help move things around and help us move forward in the right direction.
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Body shaming and Abortion