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clovetra's review against another edition
sorry you are joining the pile of DNF
there's a couple reasons im stopping this:
there's a couple reasons im stopping this:
- im sick rn and reading is a chore already as it is when i feel dookie, and rn this book isn't gripping me enough to care
- could not care about any of the characters - im 20% in and no discernable personality traits have been found other than the mother being essentially catatonic
- language is too flowery for what its actually describing
- i could probably get thru this if i was feeling well but i don't have the energy or care to push thru
might pick this up in the future but for know its bye bye to the dnf pile 😔
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy and Child abuse
timelapse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
a very very memorable and hard-hitting book for me. there's so much ground covered and so much to think about but some themes that stood out to me: the weight of a name and how it becomes you and you become it in turn (intentionally or coincidentally); the love and hate we feel towards abusive and unlovable people in our inner circle, and why we may not be able to / want to untangle ourselves from them; abuse and how it bleeds into every corner of your life and eats away at your sense of self; and the beauty and defiance of simply persisting.
i've been more hurried with trying to cover more ground with books i read, but this one makes me want to go back and savor this later. in particular, i want to eventually revisit the refrain "i'll go on" (계속해보겠습니다) throughout the novel, as it's such a versatile and evocative one.
this not a happy book by any means, nor do i think any of the characters (save naghi) are even lovable, but nana and aeja have been some of my favorite characters i've read in a long time. it also reminded me of a far more depressing version of banana yoshimoto's kitchen with certain themes of food and the slight distance from the narrators, but the storytelling and characters resonated a lot more intimately for me.
and one final note: this is not something i notice in books before but this book was VERY well translated, it had the perfect amt of localization to be wonderfully understandable, but you can almost hear the author's original voice in korean.
i've been more hurried with trying to cover more ground with books i read, but this one makes me want to go back and savor this later. in particular, i want to eventually revisit the refrain "i'll go on" (계속해보겠습니다) throughout the novel, as it's such a versatile and evocative one.
this not a happy book by any means, nor do i think any of the characters (save naghi) are even lovable, but nana and aeja have been some of my favorite characters i've read in a long time. it also reminded me of a far more depressing version of banana yoshimoto's kitchen with certain themes of food and the slight distance from the narrators, but the storytelling and characters resonated a lot more intimately for me.
and one final note: this is not something i notice in books before but this book was VERY well translated, it had the perfect amt of localization to be wonderfully understandable, but you can almost hear the author's original voice in korean.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Homophobia
Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent
mangoreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
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