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biobeetle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, and Misogyny
eggplantia5's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I found this a little hard to get started but then I was hooked. I loved the descriptions of the different symptomers - kind of wish there were more. I find that many of the books from Korean authors I've read have main characters who are very unsympathetic and they don't care that they are unlikeable. And while they do grow, it's different from how American or British authors would have a main character grow.
The ending was a little rushed - I found the torture scene really horrifying despite its relative brevity, and that kind of overwhelmed the ending for me. I wish we understood the role that Jeong-eun had to play a bit more.
The ending was a little rushed - I found the torture scene really horrifying despite its relative brevity, and that kind of overwhelmed the ending for me. I wish we understood the role that Jeong-eun had to play a bit more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
scifi_rat's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Plot: 3.75★
Prose: 4★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4★/4.5★
Characters: 4★
Worldbuilding: 4★
Ending: 3.75★
Prose: 4★
Pace: 4★
Concept/Execution: 4★/4.5★
Characters: 4★
Worldbuilding: 4★
Ending: 3.75★
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
jojo50's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Weird, weird, weird book. But interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, and Kidnapping
flamesocks's review against another edition
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
kinddog2073's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
A bizarre book to be sure. There is some interesting and at times poignant commentary about capitalism and alienation as others have noted. There are also some very funny and human moments. Despite that, I think this would have been better as a collection of short stories with the narrator's personality and life filled subtly through the telling of those. Instead, we get weird moments of plot that feel like distractions from the stories of the symptomers, which are so often funny or touching.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Torture
Moderate: Bullying, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, and Alcohol
kartoffel_00's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
There were some amazing thought provoking moments that got punctuated with some extremely unnecessary details about the sensual. I kept questioning why it was there at all since it had no relationship with the topic being discussed. It could have saved itself with the ending but it didn't.
I hope lit fic authors realise that throwing around random scenes about porn, sex, rape, etc doesn't exactly make your book "mature" or "Avant Garde". It just looks like a child talking about something they have no idea of.
I hope lit fic authors realise that throwing around random scenes about porn, sex, rape, etc doesn't exactly make your book "mature" or "Avant Garde". It just looks like a child talking about something they have no idea of.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Pedophilia and Suicidal thoughts
Please take the graphic warnings seriously.chocolate_pondue's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
This book surprised me from beginning to end. It starts off very funny, lighthearted, and strange. It's the story of a man, Mr. Kong, who, through extraordinary yet mundane circumstances, becomes a secretary for someone who handles cases of humans dealing with strange phenomena. The writing style is very matter-of-fact despite the strangeness of the content, so it gives it adds a layer of magical realism to a story that constantly points out how unrealistic everything is. Mr. Kong fights this role he's in at every turn, considers the people he's helping a pain in his side, and relays their stories with disinterest. Yet somehow, he is still drawn to them and in turn, so are we. I loved reading this book. The individual stories were so interesting. Some were funny, some were sad, and some were just plain weird, but each one was told in this dull, imaginative voice that just kept me wanting more. I even enjoyed reading about his everyday life. Seeing these people through Mr. Kong's eyes and hearing their stories in his voice was engaging because I felt like a lot of the things he thought, I would have thought as well. Any normal human would have thought of them, and I really enjoyed that a lot.
I will say there are some things I wasn't very into. There is a lot of judgment for particular characters, a couple of which there are a lot of bullying, fatphobia, and body shaming. Having lived in South Korea for a bit, I understand the thin cultural layer around this, but it was still offputting because it's something that shouldn't happen to anyone, anywhere. The end definitely had a tone shift which I had to take a moment to appreciate. I was shaken when I finished because so much of the novel was light-heartedly that I didn't think it would end up where it did. But once I took a second to soal everything in, once again it was a realistic ending to an unrealistic situation. I couldn't think of another way it would have ended and still have been satisfying. It doesn't have a particular plot. It's very much like a slice of life/character study. So if you enjoy those types of novels and strange tales, I think you would really love this book.
I will say there are some things I wasn't very into. There is a lot of judgment for particular characters, a couple of which there are a lot of bullying, fatphobia, and body shaming. Having lived in South Korea for a bit, I understand the thin cultural layer around this, but it was still offputting because it's something that shouldn't happen to anyone, anywhere. The end definitely had a tone shift which I had to take a moment to appreciate. I was shaken when I finished because so much of the novel was light-heartedly that I didn't think it would end up where it did. But once I took a second to soal everything in, once again it was a realistic ending to an unrealistic situation. I couldn't think of another way it would have ended and still have been satisfying. It doesn't have a particular plot. It's very much like a slice of life/character study. So if you enjoy those types of novels and strange tales, I think you would really love this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Kidnapping
fox_at_the_circus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
My favourite part of this book were all the different abilites the "symptomers" have, I would have loved to see even more of them. Most of them I haven't seen in any other media, and the book really focuses on how those abilites make living life in our current society (more) difficult. In general, the book talks a lot about understanding each other's hardships and being more kind.
The beginning of the book is more of a introdcution to different "symptomers", the plot itself picks up in the second half and then in the end suddenly everything happens very fast. The ending was a twist for me, and I think it works well. It's very open though, and there are many open questions, which does work with the overall book atmosphere and tone, but I also like seeing things finished.
The main character is pretty interesting, not super likeable, but he works in the book.
The beginning of the book is more of a introdcution to different "symptomers", the plot itself picks up in the second half and then in the end suddenly everything happens very fast. The ending was a twist for me, and I think it works well. It's very open though, and there are many open questions, which does work with the overall book atmosphere and tone, but I also like seeing things finished.
The main character is pretty interesting, not super likeable, but he works in the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Fatphobia, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death, Sexism, and Suicide
irodori_megu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol