Reviews

Stay True by Hua Hsu

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busybusyreading_asako's review against another edition

2.0

i was expecting Crying in H Mart meets The Year of Magical Thinking, but this one really didn't do it for me personally. For such a short book I thought way too many topics were tackled, at the expense of actual character development and attachment. I wasn't really moved by the parts I was supposed to be and found this quite boring overall. I feel bad posting this harsh review but..... I have to justify my star rating

audreychiao's review against another edition

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5.0

5 stars. This might be my favorite memoir. Hua Hsu is a great writer. This read like a sophisticated journal, one that dives into the thoughts of the writer as if the reader were in his head as the moment is happening.

This memoir didn't seem to have one overall important message-- or if it did, I didn't seem to get it. But that doesn't matter. What stood out to me were the short, precious moments he shared with his father and his friends. I sometimes think that's what life is all about - those short moments that are just so human, that are just so full of life. They're not about anything in particular, but those moments are what life is all about.

I really felt that I was meeting, understanding and coming to know Hua Hsu in this memoir. His writing is powerful and honest. This memoir also doesn't cover all of the author's life. I guess it tells the story of a philosophy that he holds dear to him every day: stay true. (Maybe I did get the overall message!)

I would love to read more memoirs that made me feel the way Hua Hsu's made me feel.

dbert's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

nookatdusk's review

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2.0

maaf banget. tapi aku nggak cocok dengan gaya berceritanya. aku nggak menangkap intensi penulisnya mau ke arah mana. tentang kehidupan sebagai imigran kah? atau duka kehilangan teman kah? aku kurang bisa menangkap karena pembahasannya seperti hanya sedikit-sedikit. penulis di sini lebih banyak bercerita tentang musik-musik dan tentang penyusunan zine yang mana aku kurang bisa relate 🙏🏻

aku juga kurang merasakan kedekatan Hsu dan Ken sehingga pada saat bagian cerita duka tentang Ken, aku merasa sedih, tapi seperti lewat begitu aja 😂.

perubahaan gaya menulis terasa di bab terakhir (sekitar 30 halaman terakhir). seandainya keseluruhan buku ditulis seperti ini, pasti akan jauh lebih bagus dan lebih ngena 😭.

suhmown's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.0

While parts of this were good (commentary on individualism, what’s its like to be young, the feeling of college, long distance families, etc.), I felt like this book bit off more than it could chew. The strong emphasis on philosophy and music felt misplaced based on the back. I was expecting an exploration of grief but found a story of a million different half baked pieces. Perhaps this is a fault of my expectations and the description on the back but I was expecting a different story.

2000s's review against another edition

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4.25

A grower. The philosophizing and cooler-than-thou attitude in the beginning was mostly obnoxious to me, but about halfway through, it all started to make sense. The way the author wrote about grief was devastating but also just beautiful and admirable.

This book makes me wish that I had a cool friend group in college and that I had been more involved and ambitious, but also to hold close the friends and experiences that I do have.