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tarrowood's review against another edition
5.0
Quick bout of short stories this afternoon/evening. Yoon paints some full characters that imbue truth and beauty some of the most haunting ways
book_concierge's review
3.0
From the book jacket: On Sakhalin Island, a boy searches for his father, a prison guard. In Barcelona, a woman is tasked with spying on a prize-fighter who may or may not be her estranged son. A samurai escorts an orphan to his country men during the Edo period. A formerly incarcerated man starts a new life in a small town in upstate New York and attempts to build a family.
My reactions:
I like this kind of literary fiction. This is a collection of short stories, all featuring Koreans. The settings and time frame vary, from Europe to Asia to North America, from the 19th century to contemporary times.
What they have in common is the way in which Yoon depicts his characters. We learn about their dreams, aspirations, disappointments, frustrations through the actions they take.
My reactions:
I like this kind of literary fiction. This is a collection of short stories, all featuring Koreans. The settings and time frame vary, from Europe to Asia to North America, from the 19th century to contemporary times.
What they have in common is the way in which Yoon depicts his characters. We learn about their dreams, aspirations, disappointments, frustrations through the actions they take.
jayisreading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
It wasn’t until after I finished this short story collection that I realized I had somewhat high expectations for this book, because I felt a bit disappointed by it. I do want to start with the positive, which is that I found the focus on the Korean diaspora across time and different locations wonderful; it was also what pulled me to this collection in the first place. Furthermore, I really appreciated that Yoon drew attention to other members of the diaspora who weren’t necessarily Korean American and/or from South Korea (which I feel is often the assumption). Ultimately, the short stories are a welcome contribution to highlight other members of the diaspora and their lived experiences, while also showcasing the shared connection of displacement that members of any diasporic community so often feel. I also know this won’t work for everyone, but I didn’t mind the lack of resolution for these stories. I thought it worked well with the general tone.
What didn’t work for me as well is likely a “it’s not you, it’s me” situation. More specifically, I didn’t particularly enjoy Yoon’s writing style, though it could be this particular collection and I just need to check out his other works. The prose was quite sparse, and I often found myself wanting more from these stories than what was given. My favorite was probably “At the Post Station,” which was set in Japan during the Edo period, though even this story left me wanting more.
I think I’ll have to check out Yoon’s other books before I draw any conclusions about his writing style. I really appreciated the overarching concept of this collection, as well as the fact that he had very strong and clear themes, but I wish more was done with them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Ableism, and Racism
Minor: Colonisation, War, Physical abuse, and Rape
hayleyrhiannon's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
djbobthegirl's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Classism, Violence, War, Gun violence, Grief, Death, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Murder
alexisgarcia's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
cebolla's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The Hive and the Honey is the perfect example of why I tend to dislike short story collections. There are some collections that are just bad and others that work perfectly as short stories, but I find most to be somewhere in the middle. Good to great writing, interesting characters, and a story that grabs my attention. But something is missing, some depth that can only be accomplished by longer tales. This is one of those books.
I liked all the stories. None were great and none were bad. Almost all of them left me wanting more. I wanted to know the characters more, I wanted to be taken deeper into their lives, but there just wasn't enough time. Maybe I'm just dense or unable to appreciate brevity. Whatever the reason I should really read less short story collections.
Paul Yoon has written a few other books, which I think are all novel length. Even though I didn't love this book, his writing is interesting enough to make me want to read something longer.
I liked all the stories. None were great and none were bad. Almost all of them left me wanting more. I wanted to know the characters more, I wanted to be taken deeper into their lives, but there just wasn't enough time. Maybe I'm just dense or unable to appreciate brevity. Whatever the reason I should really read less short story collections.
Paul Yoon has written a few other books, which I think are all novel length. Even though I didn't love this book, his writing is interesting enough to make me want to read something longer.