Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

110 reviews

ofavalley's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

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

iblyth's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Vomit, Body horror, Animal death, Suicide attempt, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence

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

miriamrose's review against another edition

i wish i’d checked the trigger warnings before i read this but even then i think it would have barely hinted at the directions this book goes in. themes of self harm, ed, animal abuse, domestic abuse, rape/sa etc. i’m really unsure how to feel because it does touch on some interesting themes about the female body under the subjugation of men but in the end this is this is. a bleak fucking book and it’s hard to come away feeling anything except depressed 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Misogyny, Animal death, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization

risemini's review

dark mysterious 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexism

katherine_shelton's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I really liked this book. It has The Yellow Wallpaper vibes, but a bit more violent and grotesque. There are definitely elements of body horror and it does a great job at building a sense of disgust and alienation and foreboding. It's a book that you can physically experience. In the first two parts, written from the perspectives of the husband and brother-in-law, there were segments that felt a little repetitive. But overall, I think it's an excellent book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Rape, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, and Self harm

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

birdafterdark's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Moderate: Infidelity, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Vomit

seawarrior's review

dark

4.0

This was an eerie, disturbing novel about how loss about bodily autonomy leads to loss of life entirely. I found it interesting how our protagonist never had a perspective told in first person within the story, as her perspective and selfhood aren't respected by any member of her family. The characters, their odd viewpoints, strange mannerisms, and ultimate downfalls were well crafted and engaging to read, despite their grotesqueness. This is a book to mull over and study, as it has much to say. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Infidelity, Misogyny, Eating disorder, and Medical content

Moderate: Rape, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Physical abuse