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wonderreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
eweidl's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
rseykora's review
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
veravilla's review against another edition
4.0
Well, that ending was as sad and heartbreaking as I expected but still did not hope for. The “an immersive heartbreaking story” line was definitely true. I would have actually cried multiple times but I read a majority of the book in a cafe so that was the only reason I didn’t. It was well written & I read through it fast, so that was good. Nonetheless I always clung onto the hope of a happy ending for Haemi. With Kyunghwan…
sboedecker1024's review against another edition
5.0
I downloaded this book after seeing it on a AAPI booklist for the month of May, so had very little knowledge of what it was about. With no expectations I dove right in and was captivated after only a few chapters. Honestly, this one brought up Pachinko feelings as you follow Haemi's love triangle through the ages. Friendship, love, war, post-partum depression (?), death and childbearing love are all intertwined beautifully as we jump from the narration of what character to the next.
This was a great read and I cannot wait for more from Hana Kim.
This was a great read and I cannot wait for more from Hana Kim.
alexblackreads's review
3.0
I wanted to love this book so much, but it didn't quite hit the wrong notes. At its best, this book centered on Haemi, a young refugee who spirals into mental illness over the course of two decades. I loved the portrayal of her as a young woman trying to survive, making choices she already knows will bring her unhappiness even as she's making them. Her trauma and her life are so full throughout this whole novel. I thought I was going to fall in love with her story.
But then at its worst, this book could turn into a shallow love triangle, two cousins both in love with Haemi. Neither of them were nearly as interesting or as developed as Haemi herself. She carried the story and the two men felt superfluous. Occasionally they had some interesting insights, but it seemed like their primary goal was to lengthen the novel.
I also found the book rather disjointed. Jumping between characters and across so many years interrupted the flow of the story for me. I struggled with caring in between the massive jumps and readjusting to how much we missed during major time skips. At times it felt like two or three different stories all crammed into a single book.
I was still torn between two and three stars, but the ending was so heavy handed and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. It kind of cheapened the whole book.
The writing was lovely and I did really adore the character of Haemi, but unfortunately this novel was kind of a let down. I'd recommend to fans of historical fiction and tragic love stories, but it missed the mark for me.
But then at its worst, this book could turn into a shallow love triangle, two cousins both in love with Haemi. Neither of them were nearly as interesting or as developed as Haemi herself. She carried the story and the two men felt superfluous. Occasionally they had some interesting insights, but it seemed like their primary goal was to lengthen the novel.
I also found the book rather disjointed. Jumping between characters and across so many years interrupted the flow of the story for me. I struggled with caring in between the massive jumps and readjusting to how much we missed during major time skips. At times it felt like two or three different stories all crammed into a single book.
I was still torn between two and three stars, but the ending was so heavy handed and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. It kind of cheapened the whole book.
The writing was lovely and I did really adore the character of Haemi, but unfortunately this novel was kind of a let down. I'd recommend to fans of historical fiction and tragic love stories, but it missed the mark for me.
missbibliography's review
4.0
Things I enjoyed about this book:
1. Varying points of view: From what I have seen on social media and Goodreads, the varying, many points of view were a lot for some people. Usually there were a year or two going by between chapters, so by the time you came around to a character, three, four, five+ years had gone by since you heard the story from their point of view. I could see how that could be confusing and a bit much for some readers. That being said, I actually quite liked trying to figure out how old the character was now. Not only that, but the many different points of view also really helped shape the story. It really gave me a feel for how each decision impacted everyone involved, and not just the person making a decision. This book was really eye-opening in the far reaching consequences that one life has on another.
2. Food and culture: The food and drinks completely immersed me in the Korean culture. There were the alcoholic drinks that the young not-quite-lovers drank as they snuck out at night in the refuge village. There were the different snacks that Jisoo bought his family on a night at the beach. I felt like I was visiting Korea when I read my way through the descriptions. To help with this cultural immersion, Kim used a lot of scenery and flower imagery. I really just want to go to Korea and try a lot of the stuff that was written about, thats how much I enjoyed reading about it.
3. Reflective of a woman’s life: Haemi had such a crazy hard life – it was so hard to struggle with her as she plodded through the hand she had been dealt. But I feel like this narrative is one that many women during Korea’s war could relate to. Women in general, throughout history, I guess. Its the story of a woman who is intelligent but for her family must give up her intelligence to be a housewife. Its the woman who gives up her passion for stability, her dreams for reality. A sad story it is, but also one that needs to be told, and one that we all need to be aware of.
4. Emotionally tragic: Okay, I didn’t cry, I’ll be honest. That doesn’t mean that this book was not one of the most heart-wrenching things I have read in a while. Every time someone would hurt another, or would leave with no warning, the chasms in relationships grew. The feelings were so raw, on the surface, vulnerable. I basically just wanted to dive into the story and bring them all together – to heal them. Alas, I couldn’t, and a book with tragic relationships and their ability to change the trajectory of everyone involved is my kind of book
The one thing I didn’t like, some of the characters’ decisions (spoiler alert): I understand that the characters are all humans. They all make decisions, that just like us, are not always the right decisions. But one thing that really grated on me was the infidelity of the different characters. Its understandable that there was a draw in particular between Haemi and her first love, but Haemi made the decision to marry Jisoo, and she knew that going behind his back would only make things worse. The biggest aggressor here was Jisoo, though. Not only did he kind of steal Haemi out from under his cousin, making their love a noose around Haemi’s neck, he didn’t even stay loyal to her. How can someone do that to another individual, to the mother of their children. I really couldn’t understand it, particularly when Haemi was still trying her very best to do everything she could for Jisoo.
I guess to summarize my feelings about this book, I would say to read it. I was exasperated by the character’s poor decisions, perhaps because I didn’t understand what led them to do the things they did. But I am young, inexperienced. Perhaps, you will better understand their struggle. So read the book, learn how the Korean War affected the lives of people long after it ended, and tell me, what do you think of the love triangle? Does Haemi’s final decision make sense, and how does it affect the people left behind?
1. Varying points of view: From what I have seen on social media and Goodreads, the varying, many points of view were a lot for some people. Usually there were a year or two going by between chapters, so by the time you came around to a character, three, four, five+ years had gone by since you heard the story from their point of view. I could see how that could be confusing and a bit much for some readers. That being said, I actually quite liked trying to figure out how old the character was now. Not only that, but the many different points of view also really helped shape the story. It really gave me a feel for how each decision impacted everyone involved, and not just the person making a decision. This book was really eye-opening in the far reaching consequences that one life has on another.
2. Food and culture: The food and drinks completely immersed me in the Korean culture. There were the alcoholic drinks that the young not-quite-lovers drank as they snuck out at night in the refuge village. There were the different snacks that Jisoo bought his family on a night at the beach. I felt like I was visiting Korea when I read my way through the descriptions. To help with this cultural immersion, Kim used a lot of scenery and flower imagery. I really just want to go to Korea and try a lot of the stuff that was written about, thats how much I enjoyed reading about it.
3. Reflective of a woman’s life: Haemi had such a crazy hard life – it was so hard to struggle with her as she plodded through the hand she had been dealt. But I feel like this narrative is one that many women during Korea’s war could relate to. Women in general, throughout history, I guess. Its the story of a woman who is intelligent but for her family must give up her intelligence to be a housewife. Its the woman who gives up her passion for stability, her dreams for reality. A sad story it is, but also one that needs to be told, and one that we all need to be aware of.
4. Emotionally tragic: Okay, I didn’t cry, I’ll be honest. That doesn’t mean that this book was not one of the most heart-wrenching things I have read in a while. Every time someone would hurt another, or would leave with no warning, the chasms in relationships grew. The feelings were so raw, on the surface, vulnerable. I basically just wanted to dive into the story and bring them all together – to heal them. Alas, I couldn’t, and a book with tragic relationships and their ability to change the trajectory of everyone involved is my kind of book
The one thing I didn’t like, some of the characters’ decisions (spoiler alert): I understand that the characters are all humans. They all make decisions, that just like us, are not always the right decisions. But one thing that really grated on me was the infidelity of the different characters. Its understandable that there was a draw in particular between Haemi and her first love, but Haemi made the decision to marry Jisoo, and she knew that going behind his back would only make things worse. The biggest aggressor here was Jisoo, though. Not only did he kind of steal Haemi out from under his cousin, making their love a noose around Haemi’s neck, he didn’t even stay loyal to her. How can someone do that to another individual, to the mother of their children. I really couldn’t understand it, particularly when Haemi was still trying her very best to do everything she could for Jisoo.
I guess to summarize my feelings about this book, I would say to read it. I was exasperated by the character’s poor decisions, perhaps because I didn’t understand what led them to do the things they did. But I am young, inexperienced. Perhaps, you will better understand their struggle. So read the book, learn how the Korean War affected the lives of people long after it ended, and tell me, what do you think of the love triangle? Does Haemi’s final decision make sense, and how does it affect the people left behind?
pero_tefi's review
2.0
The book takes place with the korean war, following the lives of Kyunghwan, his cousin Jisoo, and Haemi. Even as we see other POVs these are the main three, watching how the war and a changing country shapes them and their lives. But most of all, we follow the story of a woman losing herself to the expectations of society and men, to the role she is supposed to complete and a the way she is supposed to act.
I only got this message along the end, how the two men never gave her the chance to live, and saw her as mean and selfish when they were pushing their desires on her. But even with the strong messages, I couldn't get into it, I disliked all the characters, and events were written out in a strange sort of way that left me more confused than anything. If you were to ask what I disliked I wouldn't know how to answer, I only know I wanted more connection, more feeling, that it was just a meh in my experience.
I only got this message along the end, how the two men never gave her the chance to live, and saw her as mean and selfish when they were pushing their desires on her. But even with the strong messages, I couldn't get into it, I disliked all the characters, and events were written out in a strange sort of way that left me more confused than anything. If you were to ask what I disliked I wouldn't know how to answer, I only know I wanted more connection, more feeling, that it was just a meh in my experience.
spudsimple's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars rounded down because I only listened to the audiobook and it's more a commentary on my enjoyment of the narrators and not the story/writing itself. I feel like if I had read just the book or combo'd the book and audiobook, it'd be a solid 4 stars. Haemi is a great character and the narration gave me a whiney vibe from her which just wasn't doing it for me.
jpark414's review
3.0
The best part of this book is it feels translated—the idioms and phrasing are palpably Korean even as they’re written in English
I wanted something different than what it gave me in the end, but that’s hardly the book’s fault.
I wanted something different than what it gave me in the end, but that’s hardly the book’s fault.