Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

7 reviews

trin's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

1.5

A book about food that is unappetizing; a book about how rich people are terrible that is somehow unconvincing, even though that seems like the biggest layup imaginable. This was not for me. I found the prose pretentious -- very capital-L Literary in an unearned way -- and the characters thin and unbelievable. The protagonist is not terribly competent and makes insane, out-of-left-field decisions, as dictated by the achingly slow plot. I appreciate some of what Zhang was trying to say, especially about the experience of being an Asian woman, but it was buried under what felt like an extended version of that scene from Succession where Tom and Greg eat ortolan, except less entertaining, or effectively satire. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

siebensommer's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

how terrifying, how thrilling to be seen

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

jfin54's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

christienana's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Violence, Medical content, Abandonment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic

daniellemjoyce's review against another edition

adventurous challenging sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Murder and Pandemic/Epidemic

alleahwebb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

savvylit's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Land of Milk and Honey is a triumph. An exquisite masterpiece. First of all, it is perhaps the most evocatively sensual book I have ever encountered. Food and the pleasure that it provides are a primary theme and each page is absolutely dripping with delicious imagery & description. Second of all, Land of Milk and Honey is a searing dystopia that raises many questions about ethics in a barren future. Is preserving what we've lost a worthy endeavor? Should we mourn our losses or should we adjust to the potential of an entirely new way of living?

Thirdly, Land of Milk and Honey is also a critique of anti-Asian sentiment and stereotyping in the culinary world and beyond. For one: Francophilia still dominates the industry to the detriment of nearly every other regional fare. Lastly, and certainly not least, this novel is a literary romance that is nuanced, sexy, and devastating. The sensual descriptions that Zhang so expertly applies throughout the novel don't only apply to cuisine.

Zhang's debut, How Much of These Hills is Gold, is one of my favorite books. Land of Milk and Honey has already joined its predecessor as a book that I will never stop recommending. C Pam Zhang is just such a brilliant writer. Her words are crisp, immersive, delectable, and - dare I say - near perfection. Consider me a lifelong devotee of her work.

Thank you so much @riverheadbooks for sending me an advance reader copy of Land of Milk and Honey in exchange for my honest review! I nearly cried when I opened this mail. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism