Reviews

So all during my cross-country tour for grad school interviews, this book I borrowed from Lauren was waiting for me in my suitcase. I kept reading other things..."Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," "No Reservations," and InStyle magazine, mainly. Quick airport reads. I'm really glad I finally committed myself to reading this. I was off to a slow start, but as the book progresses, the language becomes ever more deliberate and ever more beautiful. I've read a lot of contemporary fiction about the immigrant/child of immigrant experience (such as Indian-Americans Arundhati Roy, Jhumpa Lahiri, etc., which are exquisitely wonderful in their own right), but I don't know much about Korean culture (right, culture CAPITAL C and all that, too long to go into in a goodreads review), so a Korean-American experience, not to mention a male Korean-American experience in particular, was really an interesting one to feel I was gaining insight into. In some ways, Lee's writing reminds me of Marilynne Robinson's. All of sudden, you realize that a page and a half ago you've been smacked between the eyes with a heartbreakingly beautiful insight, rendered into concise yet poetic language. Count me as a big fan. Four starts instead of five only because it took me (and possibly entirely due to my own halted reading pace) a while to realize all that this book had to offer.

cbalaschak's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"But we are the living, remaining on the ground, and what we know is the narrow and the broken."

iffer's review against another edition

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4.0

This felt...real to me. Yes, the book incorporates a lot of aspects that are considered stereotypical about Asians in America, such as Asian Americans being raised by stoic families, or always living and feeling as perpetual outsiders because of their distinct facial features. However, some of these things are stereotypes because they are common enough to become so, and Chang-rae Lee writes in a nuanced enough way that it works. It feels real. This is the second Chang-rae Lee book that I've read, and his prose, somehow manages to be both lyrical in the feeling that evokes through imagery, and straightforward in its meaning.

razzle97's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-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

soap_w10's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

absolutely loved it.

babsellen's review against another edition

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5.0

Although I found a few instances where the author was a bit cryptic in his wording of the narrator's thoughts, I was very taken in by this book. It skillfully explores the inner and public life of a Korean American man in his 30s. The narrator is very much in love with his wife but is driven by a job that feeds his compulsion to escape into invisibility, which in turn feeds his identity as an outsider. Spurred by tragedy, his wife leaves him for a time, blaming his job as an irreconcilable reason for her inability to connect with him anymore. But there is more to it. The tragedy is revealed in layers as is the couple's life together before the present day. In the mix is a window into the Korean culture that is carried with its emigrants to their new land. Throw in some compelling political intrigue, and I was smitten. It just took awhile to get there.

silodear's review against another edition

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i had a hard time getting into this book. while i was captivated by the aspects of this story that were focused on relationships and assimilation, i could not get past the spy stuff. i'm surprised at myself. maybe i'll give it another try in the future.

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