Reviews tagging 'Racism'

La isla de las mujeres del mar by Lisa See

9 reviews

alisonw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.5

Just realised I never reviewed this, it’s been a few months so I can’t be as clear with the review but I highly highly recommend this book.

Firstly a TW: It deals with extremely heavy subjects of loss, war, corruption, all kinds of abuse, murder including all ages, all very graphically so please be warned if you think you can’t handle that. 

But if you’re unsure, don’t let that put you off. This book tells the true story of the people of Jeju and all they have gone through in the last century through a fictional narrative and the graphic elements are there because they happened, reading them feels similar to the sobering feeling of going to a concentration camp has, it’s horribly sad but feels like a necessity to be able to respect and remember - in my case as a European who was taught nothing about Korea’s history, it felt so important to acknowledge and learn about these events for the first time.

The author is masterful at weaving history and fiction together, none of the fictitious story line feels forced to bring in a historical event, while at the same time the story does not steal from the history, I would actually say it helps give it more blood and feel more tangible rather than cold facts on a page about somewhere far away. 

Highly highly recommend.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Colonisation, Grief, Pregnancy, Torture, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Child death, Death, Murder, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, and Rape

Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Confinement, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, and Slavery

alexis_baldwin92's review against another edition

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Suicide, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Genocide, War, Sexual violence, Death, Colonisation, Child death, Rape, Violence, Racism, and Domestic abuse

annaclaire18's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This book… is so dark… There are not enough trigger warnings in the world to cover this novel, but it is such an important story. I learned so much from this book about Korea, the Korean War, and a hidden genocide I knew nothing about.

The characters are convincing and complex, and the plot drags you under and doesn’t let you up for air.

I was less fond of the modern timeline that wove in and out of the story, but it did serve to help break up the heavy topic of the novel.

Warning: this is not a light read. Prepare for graphic descriptions of violence.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape

abrdoodle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Racism, Sexism, Torture, and War

Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Sexual violence, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

raaahella's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

This book was one that left a huge piece till the end. I find this a regular plot device, but also feel the authors never get to truly rustle with the decisions the main characters will feel over this "brand new information," revealed on the second last page. She is not the only author who does this, so I will not fault her for it. 

It was a good book at understanding our expectations of others and how we expect or think they will view us. It also showed why holding onto hate just leaves you with regret. Great life lesson book. And a beautiful historical story about a matriarchal society. 

I would highly recommend anyone to read, if only for the Korean historical part.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Genocide, War, and Racism

The length of the story was a bit too much. I began to loose interest until they spoke about the book Heidi. Then the story picked up again with Chun Lee's character. Would have like to have read what the letters they sent to her mother actually said. And curious if they understood the blocking out of information from America.

biblioghoul's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, and Racism

corriejn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

I checked out this book based on a recommendation, and because I'd heard of the haenyeo before and was interested in learning more. Clearly I didn't look much into the details of the book beforehand, as I started it expecting nonfiction-- when it was apparent it was a novel, that was fine and I just adjusted that expectation. The story is still very informative about the lives and traditions of the Korean women sea-divers. What I wish I had realized beforehand, though, is that the book covers much of mid-19th-century Korean history and includes some really graphic and traumatic descriptions of atrocities committed during occupation and wartime (such content is mainly in the latter half of the book). It is still a powerful and artfully told story, but do be aware of that going in, and don't pick this one up if you're looking for a light read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, War, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Genocide, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Medical content, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

ellanorte's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

La isla de las mujeres del mar es una novela sobre amistad, mujeres, sororidad. Sobre dolor, guerra y muerte. Lee despacio este libro porque cuesta digerir. De las lecturas que más me han calado este 2021. 

Si tengo que ponerle un pequeño contra es el final, que me ha parecido muy precipitado. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Violence, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Torture

naturemamareads's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Torture, Racism, Racial slurs, Murder, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse