jg34's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.25
Still a good story and made me cry ugly tears
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Death, Racial slurs, War, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Sexual content, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Car accident, and Confinement
heyitskai's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, and Death
honipoems's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It’s also interesting to take a look at the women situation. Always the first victims of these kinds of period. « Women have to suffer »
I also like the end of the book, when we have the confrontation of old mind spirit against the one from usa which is more like ours today.
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, War, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, and Sexism
stacylaughs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I dislike the voice chosen for the audiobook. Too slow, it feels pedantic. As a Korean speaker, the pronunciation of the Korean words and cities are horrendous.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, and War
madeline_schmidt20's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Terminal illness, War, Sexism, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Trafficking and Torture
Minor: Sexual content
cyberhavok's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Racism, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Confinement
Minor: Suicide
_cararichardson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Abortion, War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Suicide
franzi_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Colonisation
Moderate: Misogyny, Infertility, Police brutality, Terminal illness, War, and Miscarriage
Minor: Abortion and Alcoholism
jkull_10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Xenophobia, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Violence, Stalking, Alcoholism, Grief, Classism, War, Medical content, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Hate crime, and Death
dee_dreams's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Instead of whining about what I disliked, which is a lot, I wanted to be constructive and offer some lessons I took away instead.
When characters die or disappear, it should matter. The characters who knew the dead person should care on some level (even if it's shallow or self-serving.)
The more characters you kill off, the less empathy the reader will feel for random new characters that are introduced.
Misery is not the same as depth. Trauma is not the end of the story. Focus on the characters' humanity rather than their victimization.
Use writing for good. We already know that evils like misogyny, racism, ableism, and grooming exist. Don't simply portray them for trauma porn. Use your writing to challenge them and provide a different perspective. Nudge the reader towards empathy and a belief that change is possible. Nobody needs more despair.
Stop introducing random, dehumanized sex workers and then portraying graphic violence against them. It's been done to death.
If you've already described a character as "plain, unattractive, never lovely," you don't have to do it three more times. You especially don't have to make the sexist, male-gazey descriptions more disparaging as she ages.
Don't try to take on a huge amount of unrelated themes. Or, do - just decide to make it a collection of short stories, rather than a novel. And follow up on those themes.
Last but not least, think about whether or not a "family saga" spanning 4 generations really needs a chapter about a minor character, unrelated to any members of said family, discovering pansexual orgies in the forest during the Summer of Love. And if you decide, yes, it does, make it hot. Please.
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, War, and Death of parent