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4.39 AVERAGE
4.39 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
I read this because I am very interested in Korea and the stories of Koreans and Korean Americans.
If you're ok hearing from someone who is/was rich tell stories about how they are the smartest, best writer in the whole world, then maybe you will enjoy this book. I read this without being familiar with her.
If you're ok hearing from someone who is/was rich tell stories about how they are the smartest, best writer in the whole world, then maybe you will enjoy this book. I read this without being familiar with her.
Mixed feelings: Deep appreciation for all the stories and insights, the historical sensitivity and thoughtful psychology, but I had a very hard time grasping the humor. Which is maybe the point... I'm coming from a very different place than she is. Sometimes I think things like racism are ridiculous and hilarious, but it's also deeply cruel. Maybe the humor is something along those lines, but to a degree I'm not at.
Youngmi has a unique way of making trauma funny, and that is why I love her. In the stories she shares, they break your heart a little and you wind up feeling bad for everyone involved, and realize we are all just trying to figure it out.
seen her around on twitter for years, but really didn't know much about her before this. i didn't even connect the twitter account to the author until a quarter through the book hehe.
although this memoir was full of some depressing and heavy tragedies, i was still basically giggling at least once every five minutes. youngmi mayer and i do not share the same culture, but i found that she did a stellar job at discussing issues of racism and feminism in a way that was not SO western or white-centric. genuinely the most exhausting part of engaging with western feminist work is trying to connect with the 60% of it that applies to me, while stowing away the other 40% because it's too rooted in tradition to describe in a way that doesn't sound completely outlandish to westerns.
in her criticism of her parents, i found her to be brave and fair. she took their pain and trauma into account, but didn't shy away from describing the times they'd let her down & passed their trauma onto her.
oh and this was a decent lesson in the history between japan and korea! i admittedly know so little about this topic, and this book is pushing me to learn a bit more.
although this memoir was full of some depressing and heavy tragedies, i was still basically giggling at least once every five minutes. youngmi mayer and i do not share the same culture, but i found that she did a stellar job at discussing issues of racism and feminism in a way that was not SO western or white-centric. genuinely the most exhausting part of engaging with western feminist work is trying to connect with the 60% of it that applies to me, while stowing away the other 40% because it's too rooted in tradition to describe in a way that doesn't sound completely outlandish to westerns.
in her criticism of her parents, i found her to be brave and fair. she took their pain and trauma into account, but didn't shy away from describing the times they'd let her down & passed their trauma onto her.
oh and this was a decent lesson in the history between japan and korea! i admittedly know so little about this topic, and this book is pushing me to learn a bit more.
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Youngmi’s comedy is rejuvenating and expressive and this summarizes the entirety of her memoir. Her writing style is conversational and direct to provide a close relationship with the reader. Everything she wants her readers to know is witty, eloquent, and interesting. There are pieces of her memoir that really made me feel to my core. Like when she mentions her father did not bother to learn Korean at first. The way language was a barrier he decided to keep by choice expresses the emotional imagery associated with it!
For anyone growing up with the biracial experience – you want to pick this memoir up yesterday. She is honest and takes up space to fully explore what it means to be biracial. There are so many aspects of our identity that are constructed from the way our environment interacts with us. A truly notable memoir that gives use the core and the heart of her story. There were times where I feel the story was abruptly ended – but maybe she was giving the audience space to speculate those endings.
I followed this author on twitter for years it feels like but knew nothing about her life. I just liked her tweets. When I found out she was publishing a memoir I instantly wanted to read it. I ended up enjoying it! I do feel kinda on the outs because everyone else is giving it much higher ratings but I do think that other people are just a bit more generous with their star ratings?? At least I hope that's it!
I think this is a really solid memoir. My favorite parts were the chapters about her experience growing up in Korea as the child of a Korean mother and American father. I know almost nothing about Korea, so I found it interesting when she talked about Korean culture. One thing that stuck out to me in particular was the relationship that people in Korea had with American soldiers; how different cultural norms made Koreans feel like Americans are loud and rude (which is so fair), how signs saying "No Americans" were put up to protect Korean women but then gradually changed to "No foreigners" which became used against Black people in Korea. There was just a lot of interesting insights into Korean culture and also about being biracial there.
I think where I struggle with this memoir is that it felt a bit disjointed to me. Overall, it was following the chronological story of the author's life, but it would jump around a bit. Added on to that, the passages were rather short and it felt like she was jumping around from topic to topic without always exploring things in the depth that I wanted. I also think that our humor differs quite a bit; for example, the jokes about hairy buttholes were just not for me LOL. But regardless the author's life is SO much more interesting than mine and I enjoyed hearing her stories.
I think this is a really solid memoir. My favorite parts were the chapters about her experience growing up in Korea as the child of a Korean mother and American father. I know almost nothing about Korea, so I found it interesting when she talked about Korean culture. One thing that stuck out to me in particular was the relationship that people in Korea had with American soldiers; how different cultural norms made Koreans feel like Americans are loud and rude (which is so fair), how signs saying "No Americans" were put up to protect Korean women but then gradually changed to "No foreigners" which became used against Black people in Korea. There was just a lot of interesting insights into Korean culture and also about being biracial there.
I think where I struggle with this memoir is that it felt a bit disjointed to me. Overall, it was following the chronological story of the author's life, but it would jump around a bit. Added on to that, the passages were rather short and it felt like she was jumping around from topic to topic without always exploring things in the depth that I wanted. I also think that our humor differs quite a bit; for example, the jokes about hairy buttholes were just not for me LOL. But regardless the author's life is SO much more interesting than mine and I enjoyed hearing her stories.
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
This memoir was funny and emotionally intense. The storytelling shines when exploring trauma with humor, but the repeated framing of being a “poor kid” felt out of touch. With references to elite schools, international travel, Birkin bags, and co-parenting with a millionaire chef, parts of the poverty narrative didn’t quite align. Still, the emotional vulnerability and sharp wit make it worth reading.
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced