Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

145 reviews

tilder's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

A feminist piece about two sisters and the darkness they share. A testament to patriarchal structures within families and the health system, Kang supplies ample commentary on the nuance of mental health treatment. I reccomend this book to someone who needs a jolt back to the present, beautiful prose and sharp horror this book checks all the boxes of modern magical realism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

lucy_9876's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Eating disorder

libellumartinae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring reflective fast-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

3.5

Allora questo libro è la definizione di 'fever dream', perché ammetto che non ci ho capito tantissimo, ma ho trovato molto interessanti le diverse analisi riguardanti i temi discussi. E' un libro decisamente forte e intenso, ma lo stile è molto ben fatto e interessante. Voglio leggere di più di questa scrittrice, di sicuro. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

rubiecore's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

i can’t really say i enjoyed reading this, but i also didn’t hate it either? the way this is told is interesting and different than what i was expecting after reading the synopsis. while part of me wishes we had been in yeong-hye’s pov instead of those around her, i think seeing her condition worsen from other’s perspectives was very interesting, even if it made me queasy at times.

update 8/28/24: decided to give it a rating! i watched a couple reviews and analysis videos on this and that helped me clear my heads and gather my thoughts on it. :) for me, this is just one that really needs to be discussed in some way so knowing that it's taught in korean literature classes feels fitting. not gonna expand on my original thoughts because i just think there are others who can talk about this a lot better than i can. :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

iamamockingbird's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

It's visceral. Certain images stays with u. It's meant to make the reader feel uncomfortable, grossed out and Marvel at the ways in which a human brain can function to madk trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

vilmuska's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment

thomasina's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

1.0

I didn't enjoy it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

christineazopf's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-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

3.75

From a literary perspective this book is challenging and thought provoking. There’s a lot of ways to analyze the text. I would not recommend to someone for a casual read

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

carojust's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

It's a given that the hype behind a book really dilutes the experience of reading it, as I kept expecting the wrong things from "The Vegetarian." It wasn't shocking material like reviewers say, but quite the opposite -- a delicate, honest portrait of two sisters dissolving from the construct of reality, and the lost men tethered to them.

This short book is told in three parts, from the perspectives of Yeong-hye's husband, her brother-in-law and her older sister, In-hye. Yeong-hye is the vegetarian, her decision to fiercely avoid meat ends up disrupting her loveless marriage and her already strained relationship with her family. It offends them. Her wasted, bra-less body offends them.

I appreciate the metaphors and message of this story, and there's a lot to deconstruct. Considering the vitriol that comes with any mention of feminism, and women continuing to lack agency and safety, this book's horror feels so dampened by today's reality.

The way this ends will leave you emptier than how it starts, so be warned if you're not into that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

reb15's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

4.5

Not an easy read and certainly disturbing, but the violence and gore never felt gratuitous or purely for "shock value", which can easily happen with this type of books. Fascinating and complex portrayal of patriarchy and the role of society norms (or refusal of) in the life of women. Beautifully written. Check trigger warnings before reading, but would otherwise reccomend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Blood