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sahla's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Infidelity
theliteraryteapot's review
- Strong character development? No
3.5
The novel is divided into four stories. I didn't like the first one, didn't care about the characters nor the whole constantly drinking, partying and having sex cycle. But the three other stories were interesting and finally dived deeper into characters emotions and thoughts. I liked how the story was told as well (the 2nd pers. was used at times). And, as said in the author's interview and the translator's note, this is about the queer experience, and it's South Korean queer representation which is important. I'm glad I read the book.
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Suicide and Murder
anh_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Religious bigotry, and Outing
Minor: Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Stalking
lidia7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Abortion, Outing, and Abandonment
Minor: Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Vomit, and Classism
edgaranjapoe's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, and Classism
scifi_rat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Homophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical content, Abortion, and Alcohol
Minor: Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Outing
thelittle_seokmin'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Homophobia, Car accident, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, and Outing
claudiamacpherson's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
thewordsdevourer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
my caveats w/ the novel are its timeline and structure which are confusing at times, and the lack of continuity in characters and points of conflict between all the parts. for the latter, young's strained relationship w/ his mom is an example, as well as jaehee, who for such large a presence she has in young's life initially, basically disappears like 1/4 of the way.
aside from the aforementioned, however, i enjoy all other aspects of the novel. this book is funny and can be endearingly sweet, while also being scarily realistic in its depictions of struggles for one's dream, career, and everyday life. the bangkok setting later in the book's also delightfully surprising, and it's great seeing places from my own life feature quite prominently in a book i rly like.
the main character young has me endlessly rooting for him as he grapples w/ love and life, made doubly more complicated by his queer identity, and w/ reveals that shed more light on him in every part. there are no stereotypes and caricatures here, instead park delves into issues rarely touched upon - a minority w/in a minority - w/ young's HIV+ status and the normality yet ramifications of it, hampering young's life in frustrating ways.
what touches me most is perhaps young's relationship w/ gyu-ho, filled w/ both drama and mundanity that's multifaceted and refreshingly non-toxic. the naksan park scene is one that will stay w/ me, brimming w/ empathy and love. and although the ending is quite melacholic, i like the ambiguity of it. this book squeezes and fills my heart, and i sincerely hope more of park's works will be translated in the future, bc i for one cant wait to read them.
Graphic: Cancer, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Death, Fatphobia, Car accident, and Abandonment
rieviolet'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
4.0
I didn't like as much the third and fourth sections ("Love in the Big City" and "Late Rainy Season Vacation"). I think those parts just resonated less with me and I wasn't as much captured by the narrative (which sometimes jumped a little confusingly between time lines) and by its style.
The ending felt a little bit abrupt, I wasn't expecting nor I actually wanted a perfect resolution (I think it would have clashed too much with the overall tone of the novel and the narrative line), I just would've liked it to finish at a different point, in a slightly different way.
Also, I really liked the main character's sense of humour, his funny and a bit dry voice made for a very engaging narrative but I think that this wittiness was more evident in the first section and then became a bit more sparse in the following ones.
All in all, this was a really good book and I'm very glad I've got to read about the experience of queerness in South Korea.
I have to briefly mention the "Acknowledgements" section because reading the author's own words made me really emotional. I especially loved and was moved by the very last paragraphs.
When I write - or when I'm going about my day - I sometimes feel as vague and uncertain as if I'm all alone wandering through a cloud of dust, but sometimes I feel a warmth, like my hands have touched something. I want to call that something love. I know all too well how this emotion called love, how the word itself, can easily crumble into nothing, but all I can do is tightly grip this tiny bit of warmth and embrace it with all my might. Just so I can live on as myself. Just so I can live this life as myself and myself alone.
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Outing
Minor: Death and Car accident