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lorenag5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
jayisreading's review against another edition
4.75
Whale will make a lot more sense if you’re familiar with modern (South) Korean history. It will be a startlingly thought-provoking read as Cheon explores this history with incredible depth through his themes and characters as allegories of the brutality and violence that South Koreans have faced throughout the twentieth century. I can see why Cheon deliberately chose women as his protagonists, though I fully recognize the discomforts that come with a male writer putting female characters in horrific situations. It’s complicated, to say the least, and I’m still trying to process how I feel about all of this.
This probably isn’t the most insightful reflection, but it’s mostly because I need to sit with this book a bit longer. I will say, though, that this is the first time that I felt Cheon did wonders in addressing han throughout Whale. (I realize han is a disputed concept, with South Koreans not really thinking much of it while the Korean diaspora have made it a large part of their identity. I think it’s something well worth considering in Whale, though, when you historically contextualize it.)
I think this is one of those books that will have polarizing opinions. You’ll either find it repulsive, but others will find it brilliant. I happen to fall in the latter category, but it definitely comes with complicated feelings about the delivery.
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Self harm
vb_marie's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol
m_delaney's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Rape and Murder
Moderate: Torture
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Rape and Violence
Minor: Murder
ddnreads's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
This book remind me a lot with Beauty is Wound by Eka Kurniawan.
For me, the storytelling and pace is not my favourite. I'm just not patient enough and I found myself struggled to finish this book. It stretches going back and forth from the past to present.
Character wise, I have this love hate relationship with geumbok. For a woman in that time to be able to do what she did is an applause. However, there were questionable decisions of her that made me go 🤧.
The accountability for the characters' action is concerning. It threw so effortlessly rape and SA. I found it uncomfortable and disturbing. It might be common for the setting based on the time and place the book is in, but it doesn't make it bearable to read.
If you love speculative fiction, magical realism combined with historical trivias, this book is perfect for you.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, and Murder
paulap's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book also makes a commentary about misogyny by exaggerating and almost twisting it to a point in which it almost felt non-sensical. I am not sure how successful it was at that, although I fond some of the commentary quite poignant. Other times, it was just too brutal to a point in which it was not furthering anything and I wanted to stop reading.
In terms of the writing style, it feels very whimsical and detached. We do not get to know the thoughts of the characters in detail (I think intentionally), and therefore the book does not try to make an emotional connection with the reader by sharing feelings and thoughts. There is a lot of foreshadowing throughout the book as well, which sometimes worked but sometimes didn't. There is also touches of magical realism, which increase the feeling that it almost reads like a fairy tale. And mostly, the book was violent and brutal from beginning to end, so if that is not your thing, maybe stay away from it.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder