Scan barcode
joaniesickler's review
3.0
It's not an easy read and yet it is. The writing is really good and the story compelling. Past lives and current ones collide again over issues that are upsetting and yet simply life. American missionaries in Korea in the 1950s and their daughter. One of the orphaned children resettled in America and a war veteran who worked at the orphanage reconnect. It's a story you'll remember. Gary Shteyngart cited Lee as one of today's best immigrant writers. I couldn't get into his other books but this one pulled me in.
keiyi's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Very well written and poignant but reads almost like tragedy porn. Rape, violence, death, all sorts of unnecessary trauma are given to the characters; while I understand this exemplifies the impacts of war and the damage done to its victims I found the book ultimately depressing without a purpose (no character growth could be found; I'd describe it even as character deterioration). Perhaps my mind will change on a third read.
lindsayaunderwood's review
4.0
I thought this would be a little slow at the beginning, but it was a great story! Very emotional.
avidreadr's review against another edition
4.0
don't remember this one as much as i'd like, i am trying to really get to know this author so i think i need to re read this one knowing it is him. i read it so many years ago before i knew anything about him
shirleytupperfreeman's review
I didn't like this one as well. It's tragic - takes place during the Korean War and it's aftermath. Though the writing is lovely - I didn't find any of the characters very compelling or likeable. It was a good enough story that I wanted to find out how it played out, but it didn't leave me feeling anything except glad it was over.
cjsharek's review
3.0
Not very likeable characters. I kept waiting for redemption but was disappointed.
lyndseyt11's review
emotional
informative
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
abarkmeier's review
5.0
This is a book of absolute magnificence. It is not a beach read in any sense other than that it was the only thing I could think about or focus on for the duration of my readership. The paralysis and brutality of the characters' experience, as well as Chang Rae-Lee's grasp on the futility of life and pain of surviving only to endure more suffering is acute. Nevertheless his writing is fluid, beautiful, and transformative. He is one of the remaining contemporary English-speaking authors who continues to write epics and carve out a space in literary history for our generation.
cseibs's review
3.0
What kept me from loving this book was Sylvie. Chang-Rae Lee failed to convey what was so captivating about her, which left me puzzled as to how she could be so central to the lives of Hector and June. I found nothing compelling or even tragic about Sylvie, nothing to endear me to her or to help me understand the other character's devotion to her. The picture of the dope fiend was ill-defined and insubstantial - and perhaps rightly so given her condition. However, this weak and unsympathetic character did not sit well as the love object of two otherwise stalwart and impervious characters. Even the chapters that were from Sylvie's point of view struck me as not as well-written as the rest. She fell flat and so I was at a loss to understand the obsession surrounding her, which ultimately was the whole story. Chang-rae Lee is a fantastic writer, and I was swept up in some of his passages, but overall I was not enamored with the book.