Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Whale by Jae Won Chung, Cheon Myeong-kwan

3 reviews

notthatcosta's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I have a lot of strong feelings which I'm struggling to articulate right now...

Honestly for the first half I thought I was going to love this book but it really fell off towards the end. Even though the pacing and the distribution of the narratives was uneven, there was a sense of momentum and build towards purposeful twists and turns. However, the last act sadly descended into pure mystery porn. If I wanted to read A Little Life I would simply read A Little Life.

Compared to Kim Ji-young: Born 1982 (the only other Korean novel I've read to date), this was so much more vulgar, brutal and unabashed in a way that took me off guard but also kept me engaged. It had a lot to say and wasn't afraid to take big swings.

The parts focused on Geumbok (pre-transition, I stress) were excellent and I wish the rest was cropped out, because everything after the fire was frustrating and felt ultimately pointless compared to what came before it. Everything from prison onwards was a long, arduous and torturous indulgence into Chunhui's suffering with a payoff that felt as unearned as her suffering. It just didn't feel very purposeful like the story of her mother did...I just want to understand what the intention there was??? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Death, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Abandonment, Bullying, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexism, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Murder, Body horror, Car accident, Classism, Confinement, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Violence, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Incest, Toxic relationship, War, and Mental illness

rachelmaria's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

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

3.5

A great plot and very colorful characters that I really enjoyed reading about. Good pace, really great story telling with a strong sense of humor. However, the descriptions of women's bodies in this book serve as a constant reminder that this book is written by a man. Lots of casual mysogeny "people were impressed by her unwomanly capacity to boldly persue new opportunities" and there is very casual reference to rape throughout. 
I would score the first half of the book 4* and the second half 2*, as my interest started to dwindle the more cruel and capatalist Geumbok became, but then ended strong as my heart broke for Chunhui.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Ableism, and Rape

purplemuskogee's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have really struggled to finish this one. It's written like a tale with many short chapters focusing on different generations of women in a family - the "old crone", the daughter with the magical scent, the daughter who is a giant... I found it well written, the translation is very smooth, but the content was incredibly disturbing and seemed gratuitous at times. There is a rape at every page or almost, murders, sexual assault of vulnerable people, and I am still not sure wbere the book was going. I found the writing interesting and the format original but it wasn't for me.

FREE ARC sent by Netgalley 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Ableism, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Fatphobia