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finajevans5's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The actual meat of this novel was enjoyable and informative - I learned a lot about Korean history. However, the formatting was so unnecessarily complex, jumping between the main character's different lives with no real purpose in doing so, and it was often difficult to distinguish which life was which of the 8 words. Also, the 'twist' at the end was not at all a twist, and I felt last much longer than it needed to. Overall not a bad book, but I don't think I would have stuck with it had it not been for a womens prize nomination.
kelciilou's review against another edition
Narrator not for me. Found myself zoning out a lot.
readby_rach's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.0
So much promise, but ultimately non-engaging.
gholly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
amelie5m's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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
4.75
caddyh301's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lilia_harris's review against another edition
4.0
From the title and the blurb, I assumed that this novel would be similar to the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, or maybe even The one hundred year old man. And yet this book took me entirely by surprise. At first, I was put off and slightly annoyed by the confusing narrative structure. It sounded like an incredible story but I couldn’t fully enjoy it as I found the chronology so difficult. However, I happened to read an article about the author while I was in the middle of the book which told me that it is based of the life of her grandmother who had Alzheimer’s. Suddenly the narrative structure made sense, and I began to enjoy it more as the story came together. This book was much more challenging than I initially expected but I think it was all the more rewarding because of that. I would definitely recommend!
kissmelicia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
4.0