Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

저주토끼 by Bora Chung

13 reviews

cottagecorearsonist_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

musicalpopcorn's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

A collection of strange and disconcerting stories, Cursed Bunny is unsettling, but addictive! 

This book was so strange, but I was so into it!! The first story opens with quite a concept so the reader is prepared for everything that comes after, but I will say that story would also probably turn off a lot of readers…it was something else.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

valjeanval's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-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

5.0

Well this is a weird and wonderful little collection which I'll be thinking about for a long time. It's definitely got more horror elements than I'm usually comfortable with, but I think it's a prime example of using genre to explore the way we function in society. "The Embodiment" in particular is going to stick with me, I feel. It's almost Kafka-esque in its surreality, and the translation, while pretty sparse, serves the subject really well. An awesome collection if you have both a strong heart and stomach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Excrement, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

vixenreader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

The translation from Korean to English is a bit off at times. However, that does not dim the bizarre beauty of this collection. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, Vomit, and Stalking

Be aware that there is characters slowly dying, hunger, starvation, c-sections, blood clots, mob violence, financial struggles, mentions of Nazism, and destruction of cities and families.

sauvageloup's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

I whistled through these very disturbing little stories. 

pros:
- they're definitely gripping, and the writing style is sparse but clear and evocative, with the descriptions being vivid.
- the stories felt self contained and satisfying overall, even as many ended in tragedy.
- the last book of short stories I read, i struggled to jump from one story to another, maybe because they were so different and by different people. this one wasnt like that at all, and i had no problem reading straight through, pretty much.
- i liked the variety in length and themes of the stories, from birth horror, to supernatural, to fantasy fairy tale and modern criticisms on feminism and capitalism. i think i mainly read very on the surface and didnt look hard at metaphors and such, a reread might help me see this more.
- I liked the sheer imagination though and how Chung makes you care for characters who often arent even given a name.

cons: 
- the first two stories especially, but a lot of them overall, were pretty horrible and graphic. they did their job in making you feel things! but it reminded me too much of just horrible nightmares and intrusive thoughts and I wouldnt read those two again.
- I also felt there was generally a lack of hope in the stories, but that's personal taste I guess.

overall, well written and gripping but too horror for me and dont think I'll seek out more of her work, but I might reread this in time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

rlhreads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

A hard to read boot at times - definitely one of the most messed up books I’ve ever read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

scifi_rat's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Death

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

seawarrior's review against another edition

dark reflective

5.0

The stories held within Cursed Bunny are blisteringly cruel and terribly beautiful. They are horrors, myths and fairytales that reflect the sharp teeth of grief and the scars of survival. I have never read anything quite like these stories and could never imagine one similar to them if I tried. Chung is a brilliant writer and inventor of fables, and I look forward to reading more of her work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, and Torture

Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

paziicrm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

You gotta like and be open to a lot of genres to truly enjoy this book, magic realism, fantasy, fables. You have to be okay to not have all the answers cause if you don't, you'll end up like me disappointed. Wanting more or feeling like there was space for a few more pages to give a more concise closure.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

linalina's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail