brgntteva's Reviews (939)

 What a ride. What a noir. Together funny and gory and cruel and graphic and intimate. I'm in awe 
[IT sotto]
For once I'll write my thoughts straightaway cause this book solidly blew my mind. Thrillers and noir are not my jam, and I picked this one cause I found it on @scribd
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We're in the dark underbelly of Seoul, we get to meet its assassins and plotters, and all sorts of cruel yet "principled" characters like Reseng, who was brought up in the Doghouse, aka Old Racoon's library, where meetings happen, until he found a studio apartment where he lives with his two lady cats Desk and Lampshade, and all could have gone along bloody smoothly until 3 women came up and changed everything.
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I can't name what exactly blew me away expect all these elements put together. How all the characters were shady and human and rounded, how the novel is gory, but with a melancholic twist, extremely graphic (leaning to absurd, and here's the Tarantino comparison) and yet I couldn't but feel for the characters, and many of them at that. Might be the writing, or the insights on feelings such as resignation, desperation, the aim for redemption. I just genuinely and unexpectedly love it.
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Recommend!
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🇮🇹 I cospiratori di Un-Su Kim è un thriller/noir che mi ha stecchito, e completamente a sorpresa visto che è il genere che leggo di meno. Ma questo è il mese della letteratura coreana, quindi ho provato.
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Reseng è un assassino mercenario cresciuto in una biblioteca da Old Racoon (un vecchio ipercinico), che vive in un monolocale con due gatti, nel sottobosco di Seoul fatto di assassini e cospiratori, ama leggere i classici e ha un amico. E la sua routine sarebbe continuata nel sangue se non fossero apparse tre donne a cambiare tutto.

Mi è piaciuto il fatto che tutti i personaggi siano cinici malinconici e umani; la scrittura; che ci sono in ballo rassegnazione, disperazione, rabbia, redenzione; che è cruento e violento e molto grafico, con scene assurde (e qui si capisce il richiamo a Tarantino).

I am still not sure of what I have just read. There's a school where one ends up after dying. There are vampires and demons. And a girl who's repeatedly beheaded. I can't say I got much more than that out of it

terrific collection. Two of my all time favorite collection are Roupenian's You know you want this and Machado's Her body and other stories and this has immediately become the third. There are so many issues women face cleverly depicted in this book, in so many nuances and genre (erotic, dystopian, sci-fi, absurd). love it

 Eerily dark, some twists in the unreliable narrator, quite compelling. 

 I love the way the heroin is sassy and outspoken when her own pleasure is at stake. And it's the very first time I see THAT piercing (yes, that one). And I loved the big guy JB. I want the follow up, that's what! So I can see some more of the friendship between Mikey and Chenoa, and the outcome of this encounter.
There'll be a follow up, right?? 

I did enjoy it, the guy is a domineering /cinnamon roll, she's the feisty one. What i didn't like is the "she's not like the others" kind of approach, which although made sense somehow, still is a no to me

 It touches the heaviest subjects (abuse, racism, addictions, jail) without flinching, always with a Sex and the City vibe. Plus you get to know so much about South Africa. Liked it