Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Ihmisen teot by Han Kang

84 reviews

sakisreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• 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? No

3.0

✨ Thrifted ✨

Wow. What a challenging set of stories 🥲 It is incredibly gory and harsh and so  I found it quite challenging to get through. 
I didn’t have a clue about the historical events so it was eye-opening to read fictionalised accounts on it.

When I first read Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, I wasn’t sure how to process it as it was so heavy. This one was definitely the same but I managed it in the end. Trigger warnings are included below 🥺

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Police brutality

stairsflynnmore's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, and War

vaum's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence

thislunarbeauty's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Grief

catandherbooks's review against another edition

sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Probably should've taken my time reading this but couldn't help but devour it in two days. It's incredibly sad and heartbreaking, especially since it's based on real life events, but the writing is beautiful and these stories deserved to be told. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide attempt

seulgireads's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Self harm, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Vomit

miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Reflections on death and attempts at burying memories so as not to have to relive them conflicting with those who see no other option but to relive them

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

madamenovelist's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tomoonarmy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

“should this book really be rated?”, is what I asked myself after finishing this book. The events portrayed in this book so gruesome that it’s hard to believe that they really happened. 


“have their souls also escaped their bodies, flying away like birds?”

“There will be no forgiveness.”

“our soldiers are shooting. They’re shooting at us.”



I think that this book is an important piece of literature that many people should read (check the trigger warnings before tho!!), therefore I gave it a rating bc in today’s society I think people are more likely to read books with good ratings. So pls keep in mind that this rating isn’t about the story contained inside, more so for the writing and the importance of the story itself. 

If you can, please read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

eline1701's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I think this one will stay with me for a long, long time. It was an incredibly heavy read. To say it was beautiful is not quite right either, it's gruesome and nauseating and upsetting. The writing, though, is beautiful. While I haven't read the Korean original, it felt like the translation was done with a whole lot of care, and I really appreciated the informative translator's note at the start, which explained the political situation in South Korea in the years leading up to the Gwangju Uprising (and I was very endeared by the way they admitted to drawing inspiration from the Yorkshire accent in "translating" the Gwangju dialect). The writing is merciless when it comes to the descriptions of violence in particular, yet also beautiful and contemplative at times, without feeling flowery or pretentious. I also loved the way in which all three single person points of view (I, you, she/he/they) were alternated throughout the novel, which made it all feel even more immersive and intense. 

As for the novel's content, despite the horrors that were described, the graphic descriptions always felt justified - never sensationalised, never allowing anyone to romanticise any of it. And at the same time, there was  a certain tenderness to it, especially for the different main characters, who are all so deeply human. 

Speaking of the characters, I thought the connections between them all were so masterfully done. For Seon-ju, it took me embarrassingly long to realise it was her, but when I did it hit me right in the chest. And Dong-ho as the red thread tying them all together when initially his focus is only on his friend... yeah. 

All of that said, I don't know if I'd recommend this book to anyone. It really is just very heavy and very graphic (see below, yes, all of those are described in detail again and again), to the point where I had some restless dreams from it. It's also a bleak book, as it doesn't only cover the events of the Uprising, but also its longlasting, ongoing aftereffects, without much of a message of hope. Still, I'm grateful to have read it though and to know a bit more about Gwangju, South Korea, and the Gwangju Uprising. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Alcohol