Reviews

Nuclear Family by Joseph Han

trvreooo's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

Truly amazing, definitely my favorite book now. Masterfully written. Descriptions evoke such deep emotion. I had to take a breather after each chapter. So unapologetic about being for people who grew up in Hawai'i. Made me cry harder than any book ever has. 

koenaa's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Kinda slow at first, but it all seemed to come together!

lottie1803's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

heymissmeagan's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

springmusic's review against another edition

Writing style didn't live up to expectations. Couldn't forge any connections with the cast of characters. Premise in the blurb sounded interesting, but execution was lacking.

lilmxguillotine's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious 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

4.0

tigerlillymelody's review against another edition

4.0

The novel in and of itself is like a plate lunch, bringing together disparate stories and genres and  aspects of the global geopolitics to create a cohesive narrative.

darah_kor's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

susanm_82's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

littlepepperguy's review

4.0

Overall, I liked it a lot. The ending is a little lack luster and idk how everything ended up great for them but it was a ride. 

I preferred the narration style of the prologue to the rest of the novel. But I get why they were done differently, so for the overall effect of having them differ, I'll concede. 

Essentially, this novel is an intense dissection of a families response to an incredibly distressing/confusing/supernatural event across the world from them involving their son (brother, etc.) trying to cross the DMZ in Korea. Which is like big no-no number 1. Especially prior to the peace agreements. It may feel unfocused to some  but I really appreciated the context and slice of life you get out of this. You def won't question how any characters felt throughout the book lol. 

I liked the supernatural element that allowed some historical context in and enabled a lot of emotions to seep into the book that the modern characters wouldn't be as viscerally connected to.