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lisajoan98's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The writing style is very intriguing with this novel. There’s not a lot of progression, in fact, the entire thing probably takes place over a few weeks, but the characters continuously unveil more and more about their pasts. Some of the words seem slightly unnaturally translated, but I think it was purposeful and adds to the overall mood of the language. It’s a book that can be read as both sad and hopeful. The style is quite reminiscent of Mieko Kawakami, one of my favourite authors. I recommend it for someone looking to read something that accepts bleakness and still presents life in a hopeful light.
empresstree's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
sasuke's review against another edition
4.0
Simple but profound in small ways, I think what sticks with me most is the exchange between Naghi and Nana about how even the dinosaurs took 10,000 years to go extinct, that when the world ends it ends slowly so we have to keep up the effort of living. Also I love sisters in stories, I love Sora and Nana.
katsel's review against another edition
1.0
Something that makes me very angry is victimisation. There is nothing tragic about believing that an event outside of your control has lead to your life inalterably moving into one direction only. There is nothing romantic about accepting being stuck in a dark space. And there was nothing inspirational about I'll Go On.
Two sisters grow up in a broken home after their father dies in a workplace accident and their mother falls into depression. With no love or attention given to them during their childhood they cannot help but take severe emotinal damage that causes them lifelong difficulties to form relationships and feel compassion and love. The "idea" here is that the death of their father disabled their mother to raise her children, which leads to the compulsory development of a very similar depression on their side. Now, you might think, yes, this, unfortunately, happens, it is important to write about it. And you are correct. But the angle with which Hwang approaches the story made me want to tear this book apart.
The two sisters are portrayed as so incapable of healing, of acknowledging their trauma that it doesn't give any "hope" to the reader. If anything, I felt like the message of the book was that, without a father, a family is incapable of forming a strong bond, and without a strong family you are destined to be a weak and broken person that cannot form a functioning family themselves. I would have loved for the book to tell the story of how the sisters are able to turn their lives around by reflecting on what their mother couldn't reflect on, and become strong women that support and heal eachother. Instead, they simply "go on" - meaning they bob up and down in their twisted sadness they can't even comprehend because they blame their surroundings for breaking them, rather than searching for a way out.
There were no intelligent comments on depression in this book whatsoever. The characters understanding of their situation didn't stretch beyond that of a child, minus the intuitive emotional depth with which a child would be able to feel sadness or loneliness. The story felt naft, dated, andborderline sexist. Do not recommend, unless you can find comfort in fatalistic, romanticised descriptions of mental illness - which I truly doubt anyone would.
Two sisters grow up in a broken home after their father dies in a workplace accident and their mother falls into depression. With no love or attention given to them during their childhood they cannot help but take severe emotinal damage that causes them lifelong difficulties to form relationships and feel compassion and love. The "idea" here is that the death of their father disabled their mother to raise her children, which leads to the compulsory development of a very similar depression on their side. Now, you might think, yes, this, unfortunately, happens, it is important to write about it. And you are correct. But the angle with which Hwang approaches the story made me want to tear this book apart.
The two sisters are portrayed as so incapable of healing, of acknowledging their trauma that it doesn't give any "hope" to the reader. If anything, I felt like the message of the book was that, without a father, a family is incapable of forming a strong bond, and without a strong family you are destined to be a weak and broken person that cannot form a functioning family themselves. I would have loved for the book to tell the story of how the sisters are able to turn their lives around by reflecting on what their mother couldn't reflect on, and become strong women that support and heal eachother. Instead, they simply "go on" - meaning they bob up and down in their twisted sadness they can't even comprehend because they blame their surroundings for breaking them, rather than searching for a way out.
There were no intelligent comments on depression in this book whatsoever. The characters understanding of their situation didn't stretch beyond that of a child, minus the intuitive emotional depth with which a child would be able to feel sadness or loneliness. The story felt naft, dated, and
aqilahreads's review against another edition
3.0
surprisingly, i kinda like how the story goes even though the paragraphing is a little bit odd ((maybe since its a translated book)) and it took awhile for me to get used to. i’ll go on is about sora whom finds out that her sister is pregnant even though they live together and shares her family hardships generally in her life. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5. i felt that there are some parts that are beautifully written and resonates me but there were also parts where are quite redundant. totally recommend if you would like to read something fresh. ✨ and if you are used to reading jap lit, you might probably like this too as it has quite a similar way of telling a story ☺️
“all grown up, Baekmo finally said in a tired tone directed at Nana and me. so grown, i barely recognise you; in the streets i’d have passed right by. still: family’s family. if any one of us here dies, we are the ones who will come together at the end of the day”.
“all grown up, Baekmo finally said in a tired tone directed at Nana and me. so grown, i barely recognise you; in the streets i’d have passed right by. still: family’s family. if any one of us here dies, we are the ones who will come together at the end of the day”.
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
katie_greenwinginmymouth's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really appreciated this tender, intimate book about a family living through trauma and the unconventional family unit that emerges through circumstance to cope with this. Sora and Nana are sisters who are incredibly close and are left to pretty much fend for themselves when their father dies in a tragic workplace accident and their mother becomes extremely depressed. There is no support for the family and they slide into a precarious living situation that by chance leads them to share an unusually set up living space with another widowed mother and her son Naghi who is a similar age to Sora and Nana. The lives of the two families from that point in become inextricably intertwined.
The book is split into three sections told from the perspective of Sora, Nana and Naghi when they are adults. I love this structure because it shows each person’s memory of the same situation to be fallible and totally subjective. There is particularly a tension between the way the sisters care for each other and whether that is perceived to be protective or suffocating. The trauma they have all had to cope with deeply affects their adult relationships as we see.
Food memories are a huge part of the book. Naghi’s mother prepares the sisters dosirak (packed lunches) when their own mother is too unwell to look after them. The food is simple but provides essential nourishment both in terms of stopping them from going hungry and in giving them the love and care they are lacking. Sora, Nana and Naghi also develop a family tradition where each year they gather with Naghi’s mum to make all of the overripe kimchi into a huge batch dumplings so it doesn’t go to waste. I love the bit where they described tasting the dumplings to check they were ok and the description just slides into a description of their unusual (by societal standards) family situation -
“How is it?
Delicious, she answers.
It’s really good.
Really, really good.
The longing, the delight, the tenderness, the fear, the loneliness, the regret, the joy - all muddled, all at once.
All one big mess.”