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cyberhavok's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Suicide, and Death of parent
midnightcroissant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual violence
gokurakuji's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
i went into the book with a preconceived notion of what the structure would be like based on the summary but my prediction(?) was OFF. so i think that threw off my enjoyment.
but the horrifying knowledge that this book is based off history that i had 0 prior knowledge of (minus the name “gwangju uprising”) was frightening.
but the last chapter? it really made me come to appreciate the book as a whole.
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
rockin_robyn's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
sugarloaded's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
paperboundwords's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail
emmalouisereads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
The book uses different writing styles, such as some chapters being in second person (although not the same consistent ‘you’ throughout), and one chapter told from the perspective of one of the dead. Although these were interesting, I personally found it quite hard to follow the plot because of it.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism
vaum's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual violence
danidamico's review against another edition
3.5
"Ever since the uprising began I'd felt something coursing through me, as overwhelming as any army. Conscience. The most terrifying thing in the world".
Dicho todo esto, debo decir que tuve un problema con este libro: la traducción. La propia Deborah Smith menciona la dificultad de traducir este texto y me imagino que debe ser una labor complejísima, pero la realidad es que no me gustó e impidió que pudiera adentrarme del todo en los relatos. Por momentos, pareciera que la traducción estuvo a cargo de un robot, con un uso de inglés forzado, duro, oraciones que tienen una sintaxis rara y palabras o expresiones que nunca escuché a alguien decir en mi vida. Sólo por poner un ejemplo de muchos, ¿por qué la traductora en un momento puso "get out a cigarette" en vez de "take out a cigarette" o "take a cigarette out of the bag". Se trata de cosas así que constantemente me sacaban de la historia, me distraían y me irritaban. Al ser una traducción la verdad que no puedo opinar sobre la escritura de la autora, pero dudo que sea tan forzada y dura como se lee en inglés.
Otro aspecto que bajó un poco la calidad de mi experiencia de lectura es que en algunas escenas se vuelven confusas las líneas temporales. La verdad es que hubo fragmentos que tuve que leer dos veces porque sinceramente me desorientaba quién estaba hablando y en qué momento temporal estábamos. Esto no sé si también es debido a la traducción o si es es algo que está presente en la escritura de Han Kang. Pero me hubiera gustado que las cosas fueran más claras.
"There was something infinitely noble about how his body still bore the traces of Hands that had touched ir, a tangible record of having been cared for, been valued, that made me envious and sad".
Más allá de las cosas que me molestaron o que no me convencieron, quiero subrayar la importancia enorme de este libro y realmente admiro lo que hizo Han Kang con este libro, cómo aborda hechos históricos tan terrible. Cómo encuentra palabras para narrar el terror desde cierta distancia que nunca abandona la empatía. Me pareció una buena decisión la estructura de seis relatos interconectados cómo modo de narrar la historia; los relatos se van conectando a través de un encadenamiento, con un personaje de un cuento anterior que aparece en uno siguiente, como si fuera algo que podría seguir tejiéndose eternamente.
Pienso que en los textos que documentan el terrorismo de Estado y los crímenes de lesa humanidad aparece siempre lo mismo: los familiares que buscan a sus seres queridos, que los extrañan, que piden justicia por ellos. Las conexiones humanas. Todo el horror termina siendo atravesado por el amor, por la lucha de madres, hermanos, amigos. Esa es la única luz que logra colarse por los intersticios.
"I don't have a map for whatever world lies beyond death. I don't know whether there too there are meetings and partings, whether we still have faces and voices, hearts with the capacity for joy as well as sorrow".
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
aliciawithoutkeys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail