Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

69 reviews

maddamreads's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

In three parts, the most compelling was the first and maybe the last, with the middle only serving to propel the story. It feels like statements and themes were on the beginning of exploration before abandoned to serve what happens next. I think a lot of the effect was missed by the translation into English.

Part 1 The Vegetarian
Definitely a strong but strange opener, the choice to have the story be told primarily through the husbands thoughts is provoking. It touches on themes of duty and expectation for women while also having the reader question “what defines madness.”

Spoiler

You start to empathize with Yeong-hye's desire. How much is it madness and how much is it reaction to her family and husband not respecting her wishes.

Part 2 The Mongolian Mark
I hated this chapter so much I skimmed a bit. Talking about lust, need, and the romanticization of living and mental illness. I found the character to be deeply unsatisfactory and one-dimensional, even though it felt like the point was to make the audience empathize with him.

Spoiler

There could have been an exploration of the meaning of sex, the meaning of art, and the meaning of living fully. But all I got was a horny guy having sex with his sister in law “for the sake of art.”

Part 3 Flaming Trees
A thorough, honest look at mental illness, how it affects one’s duties to others, and grief for someone still alive. It was very introspective, but it could have been way shorter with the flashbacks. The overall tone is melancholy and helpless-which is perfect. It did not make me turn pages the way the first chapter did.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Eating disorder, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Blood, and Sexual violence

May be hard to read if previously suffered from depression and/or an eating disorder.

lakeofwords's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

Very well written. Very disturbing. I don't know if I fully "get it", at some point this just feels like... I don't know, torture porn? It feels very weird in a way I can't put my finger on. It's a book about women suffering at the hands of society and men, but it doesn't really get any deeper on its criticism, it's mainly just putting it out there so people see the wreckage and think about it. I understand the choice of not giving us the protagonists perspective at all, giving her even less agency in the whole thing, but I still wish it had, I wish we got to know what she was experiencing. I'm very unsettled about it, some scenes stuck with me and I wish they hadn't. Anyway, fuck men and I am gonna stop reading litfic for a whiiiile.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

ashlynregan's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

This book is wild. It is also incredibly sad. A deep dive into a mentally ill family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Cursing, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Child abuse, Classism, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

drinkthefloor's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

i think that i am genuinely quite in shock after finishing this unassuming, slim little book. perhaps that is also a metaphor for the content of this novel too. a haunting tale told by unreliable narration, handling themes of ethics, bodily autonomy, societal pressures, family dynamics and mental illness. ‘if everything hadn’t splintered apart, then perhaps she was the one who would have broken down’ is a perfect quote that encapsulates my reading experience. i am quite literally breathless and so on edge. easily one of the most meaningful books i’ve read this year, or more likely, ever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Violence, and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

hallowini's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Eating disorder, Suicide, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

seagullsaga's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Medical content, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Animal death, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Alcohol

lemonadecat's review

5.0

Have you ever read a book that, when you finish, you just have to sit there and chew on it for a while? Like, the rest of your day is sort of a fog because it's so heavy on you? That's this book.

I was drawn to this book immediately because of the themes; I'll admit that I'm a sucker for books about deranged and somewhat violent women. However, what I got when reading this was miles different than what I was expecting. I still feel unsettled about the content a month later writing this review, but to my best knowledge, that's the intent. To make you question society, women's place in it, how mental health is treated, and to haunt you a bit. And it does that excellently and tastefully without sacrificing grit and nuance.

I will warn readers in advance that there is some potentially triggering content. The book has mentions and some brief depictions of rape, sexual assault, abuse, and eating disorders. A massive theme in this book is "the male gaze" and the subjugation of women who are seen as "other" or less than. There are sections that are written from the perspective of, without spoiling much, a male who is sexually violent in bursts. Typically, I struggle to get through rape/sexual assault scenes and mentions of it in literature. However, the writing in this book is masterfully done and does not lean sympathetically or gratuitously in any way when referencing such violence. In fact, it made me feel seen as a survivor, even if it was a deeply upsetting topic to push through.

Honestly, this book left me at a loss for words. I say that as a compliment. It is few and far between that a book leaves me this shaken. There is so much to unpack in such a short book that I feel like I could dedicate a day to mulling it over and still be left with a feeling of unease.

***** - Five stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

emily_lloyd's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I went into this book pretty blind and did not realize it’s more of a horror-psychological book. The book contains three narrators describing their sister/wife/SIL downfall into anorexia and schizophrenia. I get the author was trying to write about how humans cannot be innocent being but the book was uncomfortable. Booktok did me dirty with this recommendation 😅 Highly considered DNF, but the book is very short 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Rape, Eating disorder, Vomit, Terminal illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Classism, Blood, Body horror, and Chronic illness

radarmagi's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Rape, Violence, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Medical trauma

_dani's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, and Eating disorder