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electrachet's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
This was beautiful, lyrical, moving. My favorite piece of this book: "There are certain memories that remain inviolate to the ravages of time. And to those of suffering. It is not true that everything is colored by time and suffering. It is not true that they bring everything to ruin."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage
Minor: Death and Death of parent
nniee's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and War
fallenquills's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
three main takeaways:
- the pasts of our pasts can haunt the steps of our present
- the paths of those who came before us, however short, are ones that allow us to continue forward
- your existence is a precious miracle of a thing
it was a beautifully sad book, but i think i needed to read it when i was in the right headspace for it. han kang's writing in this book is beautifully poetic, and the links between all the white things and the colour that is sprinkled throughout really enhances the reflectiveness of the space she writes from.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, and Grief
iidumarie's review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Grief
kairhone's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
aliciawithoutkeys's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage and Grief
ren_reading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage
windspice's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism and Drug abuse
seaoftranquility's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
4.0
I loved The Vegetarian by her and I had high expectations for this one, which were only partly met. It has some very beautiful parts, but I lost connection sometimes. I'm not sure if it's a translation problem or not. Moreover, this is not a novel. Do not expect chapters and full pages and a story. The book consists of fragments- it has pages that are 1/3 or 1/2 filled, more like diary entries or a meditation journal.
EDIT a month later: I'm currently reading Human Acts by the same author and I can't stop thinking about this book. Raising my rating up to 4✨
EDIT a month later: I'm currently reading Human Acts by the same author and I can't stop thinking about this book. Raising my rating up to 4✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Miscarriage
mathearype's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
5.0
I finished this really quickly in one sitting. The reason I gave this 5 stars is because it simply made me cry. In my opinion, everything that makes you cry is a 5star. If it awokes feelings, it has done its job.
I live in Northern Europe and I could really relate to the long winter nights she spoke about. The despair and loneliness I feel was very much reflected through this book.
My favourite part had to be «언니», since it made me cry.
The novel evidently defies genre and due to its unusual structure, it challenges you to think and make sense of what she really is telling you. To me, it felt like walking through an art gallery. Going through it piece by piece and part by part, not missing any corners. In the sense of feeling trapped in a room and being forced to face new and difficult perspectives and emotions.
Side note: I really love how Han Kang reflects on what it means to be human beings and what connects us to the world as individuals. What do we bring that is different and new? And what is really the point in living? She is definitely one of my favorite writers at this point.
"Black. writing. through. white. paper" (essentially the entire book)
I live in Northern Europe and I could really relate to the long winter nights she spoke about. The despair and loneliness I feel was very much reflected through this book.
My favourite part had to be «언니», since it made me cry.
The novel evidently defies genre and due to its unusual structure, it challenges you to think and make sense of what she really is telling you. To me, it felt like walking through an art gallery. Going through it piece by piece and part by part, not missing any corners. In the sense of feeling trapped in a room and being forced to face new and difficult perspectives and emotions.
Side note: I really love how Han Kang reflects on what it means to be human beings and what connects us to the world as individuals. What do we bring that is different and new? And what is really the point in living? She is definitely one of my favorite writers at this point.
"Black. writing. through. white. paper" (essentially the entire book)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, and War