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khrysallis 's review for:
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
by Cho Nam-joo
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel made me so, so angry at the misogyny faced by women in the patriarchal Korean society—and, I suspect, most east/southeast Asian countries. So much so I couldn’t read more than a few pages at a time even though the length of the book is short, because I needed to take a break to calm the rage.
Everything Jiyoung and the other women faced in the book is relatable, or at least I have heard of women being treated in the same manner. Families always putting sons first instead of daughters, career and life opportunities being vastly different between the genders. Salary difference, even.
Oh, don’t even start me on the molka (spycam) incidences.
Prose was straightforward, although what I felt detracted from the reading experience (at least for me) was the real-world statistics being thrown in intermittently throughout the book. Personally, I thought it made the novel read too much like an academic journal, and I really don’t need more of that right now.
Do try reading, though—if only to open your eyes to look at the reality behind the glitz and glam portrayed in K-dramas.
Everything Jiyoung and the other women faced in the book is relatable, or at least I have heard of women being treated in the same manner. Families always putting sons first instead of daughters, career and life opportunities being vastly different between the genders. Salary difference, even.
Prose was straightforward, although what I felt detracted from the reading experience (at least for me) was the real-world statistics being thrown in intermittently throughout the book. Personally, I thought it made the novel read too much like an academic journal, and I really don’t need more of that right now.
Do try reading, though—if only to open your eyes to look at the reality behind the glitz and glam portrayed in K-dramas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Stalking, Abortion