Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Die Vegetarierin by Han Kang

30 reviews

michaelion's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

2.5

um girl what was that? i guess i kinda get it bc i too once wrote a meaningless story like this before. i too wish to be a flower / tree.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, and Medical content

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Classism

Minor: Cannibalism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

kelisabeth's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

nadiarausa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

Before I share a few initial thoughts, for anyone interested in reading the book, please be aware of a few TW/CW: there are two instances of SA, the first in part one and the other in part two, as well as a few instances of self-h*rm and su*c*de attempts. 

As for my initial thoughts: I think a lot of people missed the point of this book. It certainly wasn’t about convincing anyone to be vegetarian or vegan, it wasn’t even just to relay gory and creepy things (though much of the “creepy” imagery in this book was honestly quite beautiful to me); it’s about the harm of misogyny, patriarchy, and the lack of autonomy women have, and how this affects the physical and mental health of women in patriarchal societies. 

Han Kang did a beautiful job weaving a story that gives a fantastical horror vibe to the very real world that women (or women-raised folks) live in. I would love to read this in Korean as well! I’d be interested to see how similar or different things are between translations. 

One thing on translation that I will note: I wish they’d used the names of the dishes rather than listing ingredients. I get that they were trying to clarify if there was meat in this or that dish, but it felt so weird to read something like japchae (잡채) translated as “stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables and meat.” It’s like saying “wheat noodles with tomato sauce and meat” instead of just saying spaghetti. But otherwise, with only having read the English translation, the translator seemed to do a good job.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

alexiasp's review against another edition

dark 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

2.0

What did I just read? I am disturbed.
This is marketed as a "feminist" novel (I guess?), but it seems to be more about Yeong-Hye's mental illness? 

Yeah I am confused. Also, this has literally every trigger warning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Medical content

bxnny's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

pinkiereads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense

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

3.0

veeeryyyyyy strange... i only really liked the last third, from the sister's perspective. everything else i kinda struggled to get through, and it didn't feel like some of the violence - both real and imagined - was necessary. and i would have loved to know more about the dreams and the wife's perspective! i'm writing this months after reading it so i dont really remember oops

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

anenome's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

tangerinejellies's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

raspberrymai's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Vomit