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hyuneybear's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
O Beautiful indroduces us to Elinor Hanson, a forty two year old model turned journalist. As a daughter of an American military father and a Korean immigrant mother, Elinor did not have it easy growing up as a interracial child in rural North Dakota. At 18, Elinor leaves behind small town America for the hustle and bustle of New York City. After her mildly successful model career (mostly catalog work) fizzles out in her later thirties, Elinor switches to journalism. Two years out of journalism school, Elinor has not had any major writing breakthroughs yet. One of her old journalism professors, with whom she was romantically linked to briefly in the past, recommends Elinor to take over a big story assignment for him: the North Dakota oil boom has created thousands of jobs even in the midst and wake of the Great Recession.
It is to the point that the North Dakota unemployment rate is the lowest in the entire United States. Elinor travels to fictional Avery, North Dakota, where she investigates the socioeconomic impact of the region's sudden growth. Elinor wrestles with some of her own inner turmoils as she spends time back in the state where she grew up, a place where she never felt she like she was welcomed or truly belonged.
Contrary to the title and the idllyic-upon-first-glance-cover, O Beautiful was anything but a beautiful story. It was ugly and did not hold back from graphic descriptions of events. The first couple of chapters particularly are downright disturbing, setting Elinor at immediate unease upon landing in Avery and making me as the reader very uncomfortable about starting the story. Also, almost all of the characters are somewhat unlikable to a degree, including Elinor herself. It was hard for me to empathize with her when she exhibited self destructive behavior repeatedly.
Despite the graphic content, Jung Yun's writing style really flowed well for me and the intriguing history of the a North Dakota oil boom drew me in so that I couldn't put the book down. The book ends on a more open-ended note and with many untied loose ends, but it felt more realistic than trying to have Elinor solve all of the societal problems or heal all of her personal wounds. O Beautiful is ultimately a compelling piece of literary fiction, meant to leave the reader challenged and contemplative.
It is to the point that the North Dakota unemployment rate is the lowest in the entire United States. Elinor travels to fictional Avery, North Dakota, where she investigates the socioeconomic impact of the region's sudden growth. Elinor wrestles with some of her own inner turmoils as she spends time back in the state where she grew up, a place where she never felt she like she was welcomed or truly belonged.
Contrary to the title and the idllyic-upon-first-glance-cover, O Beautiful was anything but a beautiful story. It was ugly and did not hold back from graphic descriptions of events. The first couple of chapters particularly are downright disturbing, setting Elinor at immediate unease upon landing in Avery and making me as the reader very uncomfortable about starting the story. Also, almost all of the characters are somewhat unlikable to a degree, including Elinor herself. It was hard for me to empathize with her when she exhibited self destructive behavior repeatedly.
Despite the graphic content, Jung Yun's writing style really flowed well for me and the intriguing history of the a North Dakota oil boom drew me in so that I couldn't put the book down. The book ends on a more open-ended note and with many untied loose ends, but it felt more realistic than trying to have Elinor solve all of the societal problems or heal all of her personal wounds. O Beautiful is ultimately a compelling piece of literary fiction, meant to leave the reader challenged and contemplative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Cursing, Sexism, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Infidelity, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Bullying, Suicide, and Body shaming
kenzie_witt's review
5.0
I don’t know where to begin.
(And now I have to start over because my app crashed while writing my original review.)
In a few bullet points, here are some of my favorite things about “O Beautiful” —
- Yun’s characters are so inexplicably human. Her characterization and imagery (of people and scenery) are impressive and spot-on. I never doubted a character’s authenticity for a second. Yun has a way with people, and I admire that deeply.
- Her syntax, structure, and storytelling are gold-standard. I can only hope whatever professional written work I publish in the future (if any) are half as good as “O Beautiful.”
- I loved Elinor. I loved riding alongside her, journalist to journalist. Apologizing for just doing her job is all too relatable, especially in a small-town reporting gig. I hope she gets some rest once her assignment is done.
(Dear past and future readers: of COURSE there are going to be several issues brought up in one book (see: racism, misogyny, SA, fracking, etc etc). These types of things rarely have one issue tacked onto them — everything is interconnected, like it or not. It would be doing a great injustice to both journalism, writing, and addressing these issues by NOT touching on and unpacking them. Nothing is ever so black and white.)
ANYWAY.
- Loved loved loved following the development of the assignment’s angle. A rose is a rose, but an oil boom in North Dakota is never just an oil boom.
I was hooked on this book from the first chapter. Truly so compelling and interesting and refreshing. A wonderful, tragic, relatable read.
1000/5. All my love. It’s ranked in the top five best books I’ve ever read in my life. Please go pick up a copy and give “O Beautiful” a chance.
(And now I have to start over because my app crashed while writing my original review.)
In a few bullet points, here are some of my favorite things about “O Beautiful” —
- Yun’s characters are so inexplicably human. Her characterization and imagery (of people and scenery) are impressive and spot-on. I never doubted a character’s authenticity for a second. Yun has a way with people, and I admire that deeply.
- Her syntax, structure, and storytelling are gold-standard. I can only hope whatever professional written work I publish in the future (if any) are half as good as “O Beautiful.”
- I loved Elinor. I loved riding alongside her, journalist to journalist. Apologizing for just doing her job is all too relatable, especially in a small-town reporting gig. I hope she gets some rest once her assignment is done.
(Dear past and future readers: of COURSE there are going to be several issues brought up in one book (see: racism, misogyny, SA, fracking, etc etc). These types of things rarely have one issue tacked onto them — everything is interconnected, like it or not. It would be doing a great injustice to both journalism, writing, and addressing these issues by NOT touching on and unpacking them. Nothing is ever so black and white.)
ANYWAY.
- Loved loved loved following the development of the assignment’s angle. A rose is a rose, but an oil boom in North Dakota is never just an oil boom.
I was hooked on this book from the first chapter. Truly so compelling and interesting and refreshing. A wonderful, tragic, relatable read.
1000/5. All my love. It’s ranked in the top five best books I’ve ever read in my life. Please go pick up a copy and give “O Beautiful” a chance.
suvata's review
4.0
• Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this Advance Reading Copy. Expected publication date is November 9, 2021.
A 30 something ex-model turned reporter is sent to North Dakota were shale mining has greatly impacted the town. In fact, it’s not so little anymore. Rooms are scarce, women are scarce, and it seems the “all white middle class town“ Has quickly become gentrified. Elinor has been assigned the job of writing about the Bakken oil boom for a prestigious NY magazine. How does a small tightly knit town accept the influx of all these “outsiders“. Does the promise of incredible wealth apply to the whole community or just to the company who purchased the rights to drill? This is a complicated story about the haves and the have not‘s, the complications of having a male dominated Community, the sincere acceptance of those who “look different”. Beautifully written, this is the story of determination, commitment and heritage.
From the Publisher:
From the critically-acclaimed author of Shelter, an unflinching portrayal of a woman trying to come to terms with the ghosts of her past and the tortured realities of a deeply divided America
Elinor Hanson, a forty-something former model, is struggling to reinvent herself as a freelance writer when she receives an unexpected assignment. Her mentor from grad school offers her a chance to write for a prestigious magazine about the Bakken oil boom in North Dakota. Elinor grew up near the Bakken, raised by an overbearing father and a distant Korean mother who met and married when he was stationed overseas. After decades away from home, Elinor returns to a landscape she hardly recognizes, overrun by tens of thousands of newcomers. Surrounded by roughnecks seeking their fortunes in oil and long-time residents worried about their changing community, Elinor experiences a profound sense of alienation and grief. She rages at the unrelenting male gaze, the locals who still see her as a foreigner, and the memories of her family’s estrangement after her mother decided to escape her unhappy marriage, leaving Elinor and her sister behind. The longer she pursues this potentially career-altering assignment, the more her past intertwines with the story she’s trying to tell, revealing disturbing new realities that will forever change her and the way she looks at the world.
With spare and graceful prose, O Beautiful presents an immersive portrait of a community rife with tensions and competing interests, and one woman’s attempts to reconcile her anger with her love of a beautiful, but troubled land.
A 30 something ex-model turned reporter is sent to North Dakota were shale mining has greatly impacted the town. In fact, it’s not so little anymore. Rooms are scarce, women are scarce, and it seems the “all white middle class town“ Has quickly become gentrified. Elinor has been assigned the job of writing about the Bakken oil boom for a prestigious NY magazine. How does a small tightly knit town accept the influx of all these “outsiders“. Does the promise of incredible wealth apply to the whole community or just to the company who purchased the rights to drill? This is a complicated story about the haves and the have not‘s, the complications of having a male dominated Community, the sincere acceptance of those who “look different”. Beautifully written, this is the story of determination, commitment and heritage.
From the Publisher:
From the critically-acclaimed author of Shelter, an unflinching portrayal of a woman trying to come to terms with the ghosts of her past and the tortured realities of a deeply divided America
Elinor Hanson, a forty-something former model, is struggling to reinvent herself as a freelance writer when she receives an unexpected assignment. Her mentor from grad school offers her a chance to write for a prestigious magazine about the Bakken oil boom in North Dakota. Elinor grew up near the Bakken, raised by an overbearing father and a distant Korean mother who met and married when he was stationed overseas. After decades away from home, Elinor returns to a landscape she hardly recognizes, overrun by tens of thousands of newcomers. Surrounded by roughnecks seeking their fortunes in oil and long-time residents worried about their changing community, Elinor experiences a profound sense of alienation and grief. She rages at the unrelenting male gaze, the locals who still see her as a foreigner, and the memories of her family’s estrangement after her mother decided to escape her unhappy marriage, leaving Elinor and her sister behind. The longer she pursues this potentially career-altering assignment, the more her past intertwines with the story she’s trying to tell, revealing disturbing new realities that will forever change her and the way she looks at the world.
With spare and graceful prose, O Beautiful presents an immersive portrait of a community rife with tensions and competing interests, and one woman’s attempts to reconcile her anger with her love of a beautiful, but troubled land.
rincey's review
dark
mysterious
tense
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
3.75
johnchan's review
4.0
leave it to jung yun to reimagine a national hymn as a catcall. o beautiful explores god-forsaken small town america in its stark desolation.
kiernansouto's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lindsiemcknight's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’m going to be honest, I picked this one up because I thought the cover was beautiful but I had no idea what it was about. Luckily, the writing was beautiful too and it’s a deep story about a woman exploring racism and sexism as it relates to her and other people.
I feel like I don’t see a lot of main characters with as much depth as Elinor has, and I was hooked from the beginning on her as a person, as well as her development as she was searching for the story she wanted to write. Yes, she’s generally unlikable, but that’s the point. There was so much to her and who she was and I felt like I was on the journey with her.
I feel like I don’t see a lot of main characters with as much depth as Elinor has, and I was hooked from the beginning on her as a person, as well as her development as she was searching for the story she wanted to write. Yes, she’s generally unlikable, but that’s the point. There was so much to her and who she was and I felt like I was on the journey with her.
king_of_the_pippins's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0