Reviews

I Went to See My Father by Kyung-sook Shin

hanzy's review

3.0

3.5
This wasn't as emotionally impacting as 'Please Look After Mum' but really liked it all the same and could resonate with a lot of the little details

ddmgembala's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

spierra's review

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.5

This book was really slow and hard to get through at some points. Usually, I enjoy books that focus on the character and nothing really happens plot-wise. But this was different, it felt very plain. Also, I'm not sure, but I do think the translation was a part of that. There were parts that I was interested in, but I think the way it was written/translated kind of made it blah. Not terrible, but not my cup of tea. 

ashlea_t19's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

madkc4ever's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

This book is one you have to dive into knowing that it is not exciting or fast-paced. It is a daughter getting the full picture of her father through the lens of everyone who knew him and it is a beautiful journey but a slow one. Just like life, however, sometimes you find the most beauty in the mundane.  Patience is needed to thoroughly enjoy this book but it had me in tears at the end. I think the descriptions of the house got to be a bit tedious but overall a beauty story that reminds you to stop and listen every once in awhile.

mymindspeaksbooks's review against another edition

medium-paced

2.0

nonsense's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

foraging_pages's review

4.0

I lived through it, said Father. Thanks to all of you, I lived.

mokingbook's review

emotional sad

4.0

jazzsonn's review

emotional reflective sad

2.5

Took a while to get used to the writing style (e.g., dialogue not only without quotation marks but also placed in the same block paragraph); this was the biggest turn-off for me. The scene changes and chapters felt random, but they all came together to form a clear picture of Hon's father. Interesting that other characters' voices were included, somewhat in the form of interview excerpts. Timeline was a bit confusing. Some descriptions of the house and setting felt tedious. 
If I had a better relationship with my own father, maybe I would've felt differently about this book.