Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - Трава

I'm in the early stages of exploring the world of graphic novels, so I'm still familiarizing myself with the genre and its peculiarities.
I can say that I quite liked the author's drawing style and her choice of a black and white colouring.

The graphic novel recounts the life story of a Korean woman, Lee Okseon, but it stands for the suffering that many other people went through at that time of colonisation and war. The narration doesn't shy away from the brutal details and the horror of the experiences of "comfort women".
There is still a hopeful note in the ending, with the arrival of spring once again and the possibility of renewal.

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psyduck11's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Lectura muy necesaria para todas las personas que estén interesadas en historia y cultura coreana y/o japonesa.
Es una historia desgarradora que, por desgracia, está basada en hechos reales.

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sleepylit's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

I knew I was in for an emotional ride when I started this, but Grass truly blew me away. The illustrations work so well to depict deeper meaning, so the book is truly art on several levels. The story is gutting and truly shows the horrors so many women had to endure. But Kim does a great job of making the content digestible for sensitive readers.

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corky12's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

2.5

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

The history of “comfort women” (i.e., girls and women who were forced into sexual slavery by Imperial Japan’s military) is one of the many heartbreaking parts of Korea’s dark history during the twentieth century. In Grass, Gendry-Kim illustrates the life story of one survivor, the late Lee Okseon, starting from Lee’s childhood leading up to the present. Lee had a difficult life even before she was forced into sexual slavery, and she recounted life under Japanese occupation and those who suffered under their rule (particularly Koreans). Unfortunately, life remained difficult for her even after she and the rest of Korea were liberated, facing enough adversity throughout her life that she stated, “I’ve never known happiness from the moment I came out of my mother’s womb.”

I thought Gendry-Kim did a wonderful job presenting Lee’s story with great respect, as she never turned Lee’s suffering into a spectacle, as well as emphasizing that Lee is more than a survivor. I really liked the brushwork art style that Gendry-Kim used, and I got the impression that she was heavily inspired by traditional Korean brushwork. She noted at the end of the graphic novel that she “refrained from provocative expressions to give lightness to a story burdened with such brutality.” On this note, I did feel that she found a relatively good balance between restraint and freedom in her illustrations, the freeing moments especially highlighted when opportunities arose to show the beautiful landscapes of Korea, as well as the occasional smiles and laughter given by Lee in the present.

Lee was one of the few remaining comfort women survivors (at least based on those registered with the South Korean government), and she passed away in 2022. It breaks my heart to know the number of survivors is growing smaller, with neither those who have passed away or are currently alive having received full reparations and a proper apology from the Japanese government. It’s imperative that their life stories are documented in all forms, and I truly appreciate that Gendry-Kim did so with great care through a graphic novel form.

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camz's review against another edition

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5.0

Una lectura que te parte el corazón.

Debo agradecer a la autora por no mostrar escenas gratuitas de violaciones, creo que la forma en la que decidió mostrar esas atrocidades permite mostrar el daño sin causar más trauma a quienes lo sufrieron.

Otra grata sorpresa para mi fue la belleza de muchos de los paneles, al ver la portada y con el estilo de la obra no esperaba que me gustara tanto su dibujo, pero es muy expresivo.

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ktbee's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

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