Reviews - The Last Exiles | The StoryGraph

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I highly recommend! The Last Exiles was such a vivid read that, while technically a romance novel, captures so many different genres. The story follows Jin and Suja in their harrowing journey from the oppressive North Korea and into China. Jin comes from a family of peasants, while Suja is the daughter of the head reporter at the premier news agency in North Korea. While their backgrounds couldn’t be more different, they meet and fall in love in Pyongyang at University. Separated against their will, they will do anything to find one another (and I mean ANYTHING!)

I just finished watching the K-drama, Crash Landing on You with my boyfriend, which, funnily enough, is a romance that takes place in North Korea (literally this is a MUCH watch show, each episode is long but you WILL laugh and cry). #Thelastexiles, however, contrasts from CLoY in that it shows the much darker (and I’m sure realistic) sides of North Korea. The novel is definitely very bleak with the few glimpses into happiness/bliss found in the relationship between Suja and Jin. The writing was easily digestible and kept me interested the entire time with some really intimate and beautiful moments as well. I was rooting SO HARD for a reunion between Jin and Suja— but I guess you’ll have to read the book to find out if they have their happy ending!

I do wish the passage of time were a little clearer; I often had trouble telling how much time had passed between chapters. Perhaps this was purposeful of the author, but I definitely found it a bit confusing at times. I also wish that Suja had a bit more agency — Like, I totally understand that her world was completely turned upside-down and she went from a pampered schoolgirl to literally being on the run, but, I don’t know, I just wish that she got the opportunity to really use the brain that she so clearly has!

Anyway, kudos to @ann.shin1 for an amazing debut novel— I can’t wait to see what you write next! Such an interesting, well-researched, and entertaining first novel!

CW: Sexual assault, violence/domestic abuse

kmarie11's review against another edition

3.25

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

christineliu's review against another edition

4.0

The Last Exiles is an impressive debut novel about a young couple falling in love against the backdrop of one of the world's most oppressive regimes. If I had to describe the book in one word, it'd be cinematic. Not surprising as Ann Shin has had a prolific career as a documentary filmmaker. The story moves along at a fast clip and is paced like a thriller, with each chapter packed full of action and dialogue. But it's also a story that makes you stop and think and feel for the characters.

Suja and Jin meet as university students in Pyongyang. She comes from a privileged political family, while he comes from a poor rural family always on the brink of starvation. They fall in love and dare to imagine a future together, until a mistake costs Jin his freedom and Suja makes the fateful decision to risk everything to be reunited with him.

This story feels like a dystopian novel. Police conduct raids at will and confiscate hidden stores of food from starving families. Journalism students learn to spin natural disasters as glorious opportunities for autocratic rulers. Everyone knows someone who has gone missing — arrested on tenuous charges and never seen again. Then you remember that this isn't a dystopia but a real place. Shin drew on the experiences of real people to craft this narrative, and the seemingly unbelievable things that happen in this story happen every day in North Korea.

Where I would've liked to see more from this book was in the development of its two protagonists. Jin and Suja both undergo some of the most harrowing experiences anyone can go through, but I didn't really get the sense that either of them were changed by their journeys. Still, I was invested in their story and devoured page after page at the edge of my seat. The Last Exiles is a rare and memorable portrait of life in a place that few people know about and even fewer can truly imagine.

beckyqlibrarian's review against another edition

4.0

The Last Exiles is the story of Suja and Jin and the strength of their love and commitment to one another in North Korea. The story of their fight for freedom and for love is gripping and inspiring. I loved it! Shin’s writing puts the reader into the characters’ experiences and makes the story easy to embrace.