Reviews

look, deciding to read this just as i miss my own mom was not the smartest decision i have ever made. but this was absolutely beautiful. i cannot remember for the life of me how i stumbled upon this book, but i'm glad i did because the writing in this is so gorgeous!! (you can tell the author's previous medium is poetry) a beautiful and touching story of mother-daughter relationship, and the kind of pain that women hold and carry, generation to generation.

hasritha's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense medium-paced

3.75

embot77's review against another edition

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4.0

By the end of chapter two, and I'm tearing up. By chapter 12, the review "Koh remarkably and beautifully translates the language of the mothers as the language of survivors" makes a lot of sense. While smaller details leave me by the end of the book, the overwhelming themes of sacrifice and survival in similar-yet-waring cultures (country-wise and family-wise) take shape in mother-daughter responsibilities. To what extent does sacrifice become selfish?
I enjoyed this not just as a memoir but a secondary-source for the Jeju Massacre (which I was previously unaware of).

j0yce's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

marialouisea's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

2.5

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