Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

154 reviews

gireads's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, and Vomit

_gayser's review

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Self harm, and Rape

caseyjayner's review

dark 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

Terrible, awful read which is an accurate portrayal of the madness that can ensue when a person is resigned to their helpless fate of repeated abuse.  I think this is meant as a horror, but honestly I related a lot to the main character, her choices, her vacancy, and the ways everyone around her repeatedly dismissed her autonomy the few times she asserted it. 
The men in this book are written in contrast to the women- never using names and only referring to their own hungers and the ways they unabashedly pursue them.

I thought this book was going to be about pure OCD, but I was terribly wrong.  

Also- marital rape was still legal a the time this was published in South Korea. Seriously strong trigger warnings here

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Misogyny, Eating disorder, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Rape, and Domestic abuse

laraamaee's review against another edition

4.5

Wow…I read it mostly in one sitting…I’m blown away… This was a shocking read, from the animal abuse to the sexual violence, to the mental illness… As a vegan…this was certainly interesting. How do we live with the guilt of harming/eating animals? with being human and all that that entails? with the violence inflicted upon us—especially from men abusing their power under the patriarchy? Lots to think about………..

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, and Eating disorder

iloveboogie's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

intense, graphic look into the struggles and breaking point of women forced into submission 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Body horror, Death, Violence, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Gore, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Self harm, Suicide, Mental illness, and Rape

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.

---

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.

---

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

brb427's review

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Rape, and Animal cruelty

ren_the_hobbit's review

Sadly too triggering

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Gore