Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Whale by Jae Won Chung, Cheon Myeong-kwan

26 reviews

brookeunderthebridge's review against another edition

dark sad tense

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Torture, and Confinement

unboxedjack's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Child death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Rape

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

charliechorlie's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

1.5

Holy fuck the ableism. Most of the sexual/ rape scenes felt passive and included needlessly without contributing to the plot. I found myself comparing the magical realism aspects to Murakami, and found it integrated a lot less seamlessly; it appeared in pockets and in the closing scene, and whilst the prose was strong overall this aspect felt neglected in favour of senseless sexual assault scenes for stretches at a time. Geumbok’s transition to male also marked the author’s abrupt distancing from his inner world, emotions and experiences, which was frustrating at times and a strange way to use a poorly fleshed-out trans experience as a metaphor for Geumbok’s ‘male’ business/ capitalist side taking over his entire personality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Sexual assault

slaskin1's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

Going from a smart slutty girlboss to a capitalist tiny man is a change for sure

Very well written, but I’m not a fan of generational magical realism also lots of content warnings that were very troubling and not fun for me to read at times

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Ableism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Transphobia

rabzia_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Child death, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Classism, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder

yaporfavor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

0.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Ableism, Sexism, and Physical abuse

Minor: Incest

merlinmaeder's review against another edition

Very unpleasant read, disappointed. So much rape, random  ridiculous focus on women's bodies and a lame side-story of a guy that then ends up with one of the protagonists. I rarely disliked a book this much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, and Violence

royam's review against another edition

Although I was interested in the main characters' development and interactions, I was constantly jolted out of my immersion in the story with how the women were written. There were unnecessary scenes of sexual assault and sexual harassment which didn't do anything to further the story. A constant theme in the book is how one of the main characters has a certain scent to her that drives men crazy. It doesn't add much to the story and that quality of hers is used to lead into her possibly being harassed for it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse

ithasabluecover's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Child abuse

Moderate: Torture