Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

23 reviews

mdwsn27's review against another edition

informative mysterious slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

carminhomarrana's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

abitterknitter's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

supernova7's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

This is a novel based on the writings of an historical figure in Chinese history. In this story, we follow Lady Tan Yunxian, who is born into a life of privilege in 1400s China. Despite the wealth and comforts of her life, she is bound socially by Confucian ideals of a proper daughter, wife, and mother. She is mentored by her relatively progressive grandmother, who is a known and respected doctor, in the healing and medical arts. She also becomes lifelong friends with Meiling, a midwife in training under her mother. Throughout her life, Yunxian grapples with the dedication to her education and practice and the duties she has to her family as a noblewoman in Chinese society. We witness this through her eyes, where things are presented as they are, leaving the reader to form their own opinions of the society and the expectations imbued onto individuals. Lady Tan is brave but constrained, kind but wily, and over her lifetime, learns to appreciate the women who love her instead of begging for recognition from men.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abandonment

kappafrog's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I love the idea behind this book of fleshing out what Tan Yuxian's life might have been like. This was rich with historical details. I really appreciated how See struck a balance between making the female characters in a deeply patriarchal world sympathetic while not being afraid to show the ways they perpetuated many of their culture's harmful practices against women. While this did make the protagonist less likeable the older she got, I still found it a compelling story. We as modern readers (rightly) find footbinding disgusting, but it was reality for centuries of women in China, and See did a good job exploring the realities of how women had to cope with that system.

At the core of this book is the way communities of women in Ming China could band together to support each other, and that made for a very good read. I'd also note that the relationship between Meiling and Yanxian came across as pretty sapphic, with Yanxian frequently struck by Meiling's beauty. I thought it was realistic that they didn't pursue a relationship, but I felt like the romantic aspect between them was an important part of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, and War

back2lovingbooksmore's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

One of my favorite books, I think this should be required reading in schools because it’s so informative about older history and the roles women played in it, and it emphasizes the importance of love and solidarity between women, no matter their status

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual violence and Torture

Very graphic miscarriage

puali's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

“It takes a lifetime to make a friend, but you can lose one in an hour,” she recites. “Life without a friend is life without sun. Life without a friend is death.” 

While this novel wasn’t quite what I expected, I enjoyed it all the same. I wish that the story started at another point in Tan Yunxian’s life, or perhaps that it had been told in a nonlinear way. This is because it felt like we barely got to see her “circle of women,” which is what I wanted to read about the most. 

Apart from that, I appreciated the level of detail when came to Chinese medicine and traditions. I’m always keen on learning about cultures that my education system failed to teach me about, so when I come across novels like this, I absorb as much information as possible, and then keep on researching on my own. Fair warning though: this story goes into great detail about foot binding. I’ll admit, I was a bit uncomfortable reading through said passages…

All in all, worth the read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Miscarriage, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer, Torture, Abortion, and Death of parent

furorem_vulpes's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Infidelity, Slavery, and Murder

Minor: Terminal illness and Vomit

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

berrypatch's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was wonderful! An exquisite, heavily researched, emotional work of historical fiction. This book focuses on the earliest written record of a female doctor in China, and tells a captivating, touching, and empowering tale of her journey through life and the wonderful supportive women who loved and inspired her. It's an emotional fight through adversity and learning that there's always hope. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Sexism, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma

Minor: Abandonment