Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Human Acts by Han Kang

12 reviews

gokurakuji's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense

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

4.25

another book i wanted to enjoy more

i went into the book with a preconceived notion of what the structure would be like based on the summary but my prediction(?) was OFF. so i think that threw off my enjoyment.

but the horrifying knowledge that this book is based off history that i had 0 prior knowledge of (minus the name “gwangju uprising”) was frightening.

but the last chapter? it really made me come to appreciate the book as a whole.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Alcohol, Child death, Mass/school shootings, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Blood, and Violence

seulgireads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Confinement, Death, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Infertility, Cursing, Suicide, and Misogyny

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, Vomit, Self harm, Cancer, and Excrement

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Reflections on death and attempts at burying memories so as not to have to relive them conflicting with those who see no other option but to relive them

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Cancer, Police brutality, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Body horror

tomoonarmy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

“should this book really be rated?”, is what I asked myself after finishing this book. The events portrayed in this book so gruesome that it’s hard to believe that they really happened. 


“have their souls also escaped their bodies, flying away like birds?”

“There will be no forgiveness.”

“our soldiers are shooting. They’re shooting at us.”



I think that this book is an important piece of literature that many people should read (check the trigger warnings before tho!!), therefore I gave it a rating bc in today’s society I think people are more likely to read books with good ratings. So pls keep in mind that this rating isn’t about the story contained inside, more so for the writing and the importance of the story itself. 

If you can, please read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Infertility, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Blood, Child death, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Body horror, Child death, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Vomit, Blood, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Gore, Infertility, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Gun violence

eline1701's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I think this one will stay with me for a long, long time. It was an incredibly heavy read. To say it was beautiful is not quite right either, it's gruesome and nauseating and upsetting. The writing, though, is beautiful. While I haven't read the Korean original, it felt like the translation was done with a whole lot of care, and I really appreciated the informative translator's note at the start, which explained the political situation in South Korea in the years leading up to the Gwangju Uprising (and I was very endeared by the way they admitted to drawing inspiration from the Yorkshire accent in "translating" the Gwangju dialect). The writing is merciless when it comes to the descriptions of violence in particular, yet also beautiful and contemplative at times, without feeling flowery or pretentious. I also loved the way in which all three single person points of view (I, you, she/he/they) were alternated throughout the novel, which made it all feel even more immersive and intense. 

As for the novel's content, despite the horrors that were described, the graphic descriptions always felt justified - never sensationalised, never allowing anyone to romanticise any of it. And at the same time, there was  a certain tenderness to it, especially for the different main characters, who are all so deeply human. 

Speaking of the characters, I thought the connections between them all were so masterfully done. For Seon-ju, it took me embarrassingly long to realise it was her, but when I did it hit me right in the chest. And Dong-ho as the red thread tying them all together when initially his focus is only on his friend... yeah. 

All of that said, I don't know if I'd recommend this book to anyone. It really is just very heavy and very graphic (see below, yes, all of those are described in detail again and again), to the point where I had some restless dreams from it. It's also a bleak book, as it doesn't only cover the events of the Uprising, but also its longlasting, ongoing aftereffects, without much of a message of hope. Still, I'm grateful to have read it though and to know a bit more about Gwangju, South Korea, and the Gwangju Uprising. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Rape, Torture, Blood, Death, Sexual violence, War, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Suicidal thoughts

svb96's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, War, Violence, Suicide, Rape, Police brutality, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, and Alcohol

troxellis's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Death, Grief, Infertility, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Alcohol, Self harm, and Suicide

faemp3's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Death, Body horror, Child death, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, and Violence

sunny_not's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Self harm, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

erd's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is incredibly tragic, especially since it is based on a lot of true events from the Gwanju Uprising. The mix of narration (different people, different point of view format) was really engaging and steered the story in a very unique way. A very important read, but proceed with caution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide