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kieranyes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and Car accident
Moderate: Genocide and Abandonment
heypretty52's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Violence, Car accident, and Murder
hauntedvamphotel's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Car accident
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun š£
šššāØ
šļø The plot: Yona Ko is a programme designer at Jungle, a tourism agency for people who want to visit disaster sites. Every day she sifts through the worst news the world has to offer to put together travel packages. Burnt out by her job and by sexual harassment from her boss, she accepts the chance to go on a trip herself to Mui, a small island that was the site of a massacre in the 1960s. But when a minor disaster of her own causes her to overstay her original itinerary, Yona realises there could be a bigger one on the horizon...
The Disaster Tourist is a novel that is very interested in the idea of responsibility and the individual versus the collective. Yona is an isolated character at the beginning, committed to the collective security of the company she works for and unable to break rank, even when it appears that her employer is turning on her. This only intensifies as she gets stranded in Mui, but eventually Yona realises how dangerous following orders can be, how little safety it earns you from a higher authority that sees you only as a resource. I really felt the bind Yona was in throughout, how scary it is to strike out individually or take responsibility for your actions when so much of your life relies on the system you're rejecting.
That said, I found this a really odd read! The first half of the novel felt like a report of a pretty crap holiday, and it wasn't until things started to unravel halfway through that I was really hooked. I think this must have been a tough one to translate, so I wonder if the matter-of-fact prose was partly the issue? Overall I found this very thought-provoking and quite well-crafted by the end, but not super readable!
šļø Read it if you like novels that explore the way work culture affects the broader themes of our lives, and novels that definitely don't romanticise travel. This is a pretty cynical book!
š« Avoid it if you're not feeling in the mood for a nihilistic novel! This book does not have a happy ending!!
šššāØ
šļø The plot: Yona Ko is a programme designer at Jungle, a tourism agency for people who want to visit disaster sites. Every day she sifts through the worst news the world has to offer to put together travel packages. Burnt out by her job and by sexual harassment from her boss, she accepts the chance to go on a trip herself to Mui, a small island that was the site of a massacre in the 1960s. But when a minor disaster of her own causes her to overstay her original itinerary, Yona realises there could be a bigger one on the horizon...
The Disaster Tourist is a novel that is very interested in the idea of responsibility and the individual versus the collective. Yona is an isolated character at the beginning, committed to the collective security of the company she works for and unable to break rank, even when it appears that her employer is turning on her. This only intensifies as she gets stranded in Mui, but eventually Yona realises how dangerous following orders can be, how little safety it earns you from a higher authority that sees you only as a resource. I really felt the bind Yona was in throughout, how scary it is to strike out individually or take responsibility for your actions when so much of your life relies on the system you're rejecting.
That said, I found this a really odd read! The first half of the novel felt like a report of a pretty crap holiday, and it wasn't until things started to unravel halfway through that I was really hooked. I think this must have been a tough one to translate, so I wonder if the matter-of-fact prose was partly the issue? Overall I found this very thought-provoking and quite well-crafted by the end, but not super readable!
šļø Read it if you like novels that explore the way work culture affects the broader themes of our lives, and novels that definitely don't romanticise travel. This is a pretty cynical book!
š« Avoid it if you're not feeling in the mood for a nihilistic novel! This book does not have a happy ending!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Car accident, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
julseygirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? No
5.0
80 pages in and I thought I was never going to make it to the end of this book. It was very mundane. The last half of this book punched me in the face and Iām still reeling. And the punches just kept coming, twist after twist after twist. I could have never told you how this book was going to end, but I enjoyed it immensely. It was thought-provoking, it was engaging, and it shocked me to my core. Please pick this book up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Car accident, and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
reimrichter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
sophduncan's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Genocide
livvysawyer's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death and Death
rain_bellin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Car accident, Murder, and Sexual harassment
secrethistory's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was a really fascinating book that on its surface level is very much about tourism and its impact on the people who live in these destinations, but is really so much more. I would highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual harassment