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eva_vva'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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Infertility, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment
natncho'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? No
5.0
After you died I couldn't hold a funeral, so my life became a funeral.
Glass is transparent, right? And fragile. That's the fundamental nature of glass. And that's why objects that are made of glass have to be handled with care. After all, if they end up smashed or cracked or chipped then they're good for nothing, right, you just have to chuck them away.
Before, we used to have a kind of glass that couldn't be broken. A truth so hard and clear it might as well have been made of glass. So when you think about it, it was only when we were shattered that we proved we had souls. That what we really were was humans made of glass.
Is it true that human beings are fundamentally cruel? Is the experience of cruelty the only thing we share as a species? Is the dignity that we cling to nothing but self-delusion, masking from ourselves this single truth: that each one of us is capable of being reduced to an insect, a ravening beast, a lump of meat? To be degraded, damages, slaughtered - is this the essential fate of humankind, one which history has confirmed as inevitable?
How had the seasons kept on turning for me, when time had stopped forever for him that May?"
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
emerentina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
sara277's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Human Acts is a window to a very dark chapter of Korean history, and learning about it through these characters and the author’s own connections to the massacre is horrible but so important.
I loved that all the stories were connected, not just through the event but through the characters knowing each other. I need to read it again to appreciate those connections better.
Also, wonderful writing, can’t wait to read the Vegetarian.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Police brutality
kenyoncannotread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lisvxdro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Han’s writing style for this book does well to give you impactful introspection in a way that’s not familiar in the west. By spending the entire 1/3-1/2 of the chosen chapter setting up that chapter’s character worldview, the rest is the truth revealed in the most honest way possible. This book stings, it’s raw and often picturesque to the point that it might make you queasy. But the book is worth the read.
Favorite chapters:
-The Boy’s Friend read like a very dark and doomed Miyazaki story. I felt hopeless after.
-The Prisoner was definitely a hard one to get through, especially the reveal at the end with the young boys. Such innocence lost.
-The Boy’s Mother: I felt empty and deeply emotional. This chapter reminded me of my own fears.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, War, and Injury/Injury detail
claireh6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse
emilosophy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
bubbles23b's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
panicpoet's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide