Reviews

The Spirit of the Dragon by William Andrews

jamesdegroot's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

lisamshardlow's review

5.0

In present day, 90-year-old Suk-bo Yi is questioned by police following a suspicious death at a Koreatown nursing home. Suk-bo has a very interesting story to tell, but she will only speak to Anna. In 1939, the Japanese occupying Korea force Suk-bo to marry Hisashi - a Japanese man. In spite of everything, they fall in love with each other, which puts them in the middle of two two countries at war. When Hisashi joins the Japanese army and disappears, Suk-bo goes on a quest through years of war, bigotry, and poverty to find him. Suk-bo’s story also reveals something that binds her to Anna: an antique comb with an intricately carved two-headed dragon.

This was absolutely emotional and heartbreaking! It’s the third in The Dragon series, which can be read as standalone stories but I recommend that you read them in order as some characters and themes do overlap. Although this is fiction, it is based on actual events that happened in Korea during and after WWII. I don’t really know much about what was happening in that part of the world during that time, but these books are a real eyeopener. Suk-bo was such a lovely young woman who did not deserve any of the horrific things that happened to her. I felt so sorry for her and all of the other Koreans who had to live with the occupying Japanese. Of course, not all of the Japanese were bad, and I really loved Hisashi and felt very sorry for him and what he was forced to do as well. I really cared for all of the characters and found myself thinking about them in between reading sessions. I also liked the use of some Korean and Japanese words throughout.

Some parts of the story were quite heavy and difficult to read about, but I do think it’s important to learn about such subjects. To know about it is to try to prevent it from happening again in the future. I give this 5 out of 5 stars.

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction, stories of WWII, Korean and Japanese culture, strong and resilient women, and mythical two-headed dragons.

_therocketsarah's review

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

mysticxradiance's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

vreni_b's review

5.0

„People are prejudiced because they do not know we are all small parts of the same spirit. The spirit is in everyone and in all things — the mountains, the sea, the birds, and the fish. It does not matter where someone was born or what they look like or what language they speak. They are us and we are them.“

I love the dragon series even when they make me incredibly incredibly incredibly sad.

jewliaah's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A

4.0

carlotamorais23's review

emotional informative reflective

4.0

hannxm's review against another edition

5.0

Yet another incredibly emotional yet informative book in the trilogy. Never have I read a book that has made me feel like I could cry because of what the character was going through. I could feel the dilemma she was in near the beginning of the book and I could feel how she was backed into a corner. Every one of these books are an emotional rollercoaster.

Poor Hisashi! I had hoped that he would be able to live a normal life with Suk-bo. The final paragraph made it all come together though, and although I don't believe in the after life, it's lovely to think of them together again, the way they should've spent their life together.

A truly emotional thought provoking read once again and I loved how all three books, the characters and their stories neatly slotted together.

Such great writing skills! I look forward to any future books by this author based around Asian culture and history.

kmspedden's review against another edition

4.0

Wow so much happens in this book. Honestly I had no idea it was part of a series until I looked up the book online and saw that it was but it’s the perfect standalone. Having Anna and the comb be a connection but take a backseat is the perfect way to weave the story that focused on things that most people don’t know about. WWII is a huge topic for novels but you don’t usually get one from the Far East. It also makes a point to say that no one had heard about Unit 731 and the atrocities they did during the war and that’s true in real life. I had never heard of that and I’m a huge WWII buff. So having this focus so heavily on people that seem to be largely ignored in the historical fiction genre was amazing.

Yes sometimes it got a bit wordy or would ‘blah blah’ through years worth of time but I was still so wrapped up in the story that I couldn’t put it down. I honestly want to read the other two books in the series after reading this one and I’m glad the cover caught my attention and I requested it from NetGalley. It’s a powerful story even if the constant changes between names (which was true for the time that Korean’s were given Japanese names that they had to answer to) was a bit confusing at times. Plus the twist in the end of what truly happened to the man in the Nursing home was fantastic 100% would recommend.

smalljude's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0