Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

42 reviews

annorabrady's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved the look into the history of Vietnam through the generations. The characters and their stories were fully fleshed such that it reads more like a memoir than a historical fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Police brutality, and Abortion

singout's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Powerful story about three generations in North Vietnam: it goes back-and-forth between a young girl’s experience of the end of the Vietnam war, and her grandmother’s survival of the 1940s great hunger and harsh land reform, with the middle generation being portrayed either as children or soldiers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

franklola's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War

tahsintries's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and War

Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Child abuse and Abortion

cvanwerven's review against another edition

challenging informative sad medium-paced

5.0

Phenomenally written.

A story about wars’ systemic and cyclical generational impacts

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Sexual assault

carlafiorenzo's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jdjemm's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and War

rubl_b's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

bookswithgeorgia's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

inlaraland's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad medium-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

My heart is so full - I am literally in a glass case of emotion right now.

The Mountains Sing tells us the the story of Vietnam's history through the eyes of Huong and her family. There is a dual timeline that sets up the plot, with the perspective changing between Huong and her grandmother.

This book portrays the heartbreaking reality of war, and the author doesn't shy away from tackling the tough subjects like starvation, death, assault and abandonment. The writing style is very poetic, and I found the lyrical lines quite moving during key emotional points in the story. One of my favorite things about this story is how the author is able to highlight the beauty of life amidst all the tragedy, adding an element of hope to the pivotal point of the story.

I can really go on about how much I enjoyed this book. I knew from early on that I would be giving it five stars. If you enjoyed Min Jin Lee's "Pachinko" you'll find similar parallels in this book, but The Mountains Sing has a life all it's own. For a gripping historical fiction read, I would recommend this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Sexual assault and Abortion