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joonsmoonchild89's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The book has an interesting premise and explored serious themes in a very unconventional way. There were parts that were very meaningful and parts that felt out of place. Worth a read though.
timtellsstories's review
4.0
I teetered between three and four stars on this one. I had a few issues with it, but upon some reflection and good-faith granting, I think most of those issues are more mine and that I'm not really the intended reader Salesses had in mind. For a book that doesn't pull its punches in the condemnation of racism (not surprising if you're familiar with Salesses), it's easy and enjoyable to read. The narrative is interesting with some characters that are insightful and forthcoming with their thoughts and emotions and others that are more mysterious and closed off to you. I really wish Salesses had cut the final couple of lines, but if I'm being fair, that might be my only criticism of it that I'd go to bat for. I can't really fault a novel for stumbling at the end after doing a lot of other interesting stuff. It's a solid book that investigates an aspect of race in America we don't talk enough about, and it doesn't neglect to tell a good story.
jakewritesbooks's review
4.0
I was in New York for Linsanity. Not a fan of the Knicks but it was an out-of-body experience at the time. You were glued to your tv every night and every night for almost two weeks, it delivered. Even my father-in-law — a lifelong Knicks Hater — was inclined to root for them just for Jeremy Lin.
So with that experience in mind, A Sense of Wonder was a false start (pardon the sports analogy) for me.
I just couldn’t figure out what Matthew Salesses was doing. He seemed to be embittered by the fallout of Linsanity (and Carmelo Anthony’s supposed role in particular) and took it out through an uninteresting character in a clunky story.
I quit the first time but I came back. I liked what I’d read in the past from Salesses on writing: challenging commonly-held plotting and characterization concepts. I figured he was doing something different than I’m used to and went back with a different, less-Linsanity skewed perspective. And I was able to see the forest past the trees.
Because Salesses is using the Linsanity narrative in one story along with K-drama production in another to tell a greater story about Koreans (and adjacently, Asian-Americans) in a way that was quite moving in spots and educational in others. He has a gift with words and some of the ways he would describe how Koreans view wonder really connected with me on a deep level. Salesses is very good at exploring spaces between what is true and what is possible. Such a short book and it meditatively touched on racism, adoption, #MeToo, the sports/entertainment complexes, and so much more.
There were things that I felt could have been better fleshed out, Sung and Brit’s characters in particular. I know we only see them through the eyes of the POVs but still. Nevertheless, this wound up being a great book, one of the best things I’ve read in 2023. And I would’ve never guessed that would happen after my first try with it.
So with that experience in mind, A Sense of Wonder was a false start (pardon the sports analogy) for me.
I just couldn’t figure out what Matthew Salesses was doing. He seemed to be embittered by the fallout of Linsanity (and Carmelo Anthony’s supposed role in particular) and took it out through an uninteresting character in a clunky story.
I quit the first time but I came back. I liked what I’d read in the past from Salesses on writing: challenging commonly-held plotting and characterization concepts. I figured he was doing something different than I’m used to and went back with a different, less-Linsanity skewed perspective. And I was able to see the forest past the trees.
Because Salesses is using the Linsanity narrative in one story along with K-drama production in another to tell a greater story about Koreans (and adjacently, Asian-Americans) in a way that was quite moving in spots and educational in others. He has a gift with words and some of the ways he would describe how Koreans view wonder really connected with me on a deep level. Salesses is very good at exploring spaces between what is true and what is possible. Such a short book and it meditatively touched on racism, adoption, #MeToo, the sports/entertainment complexes, and so much more.
There were things that I felt could have been better fleshed out, Sung and Brit’s characters in particular. I know we only see them through the eyes of the POVs but still. Nevertheless, this wound up being a great book, one of the best things I’ve read in 2023. And I would’ve never guessed that would happen after my first try with it.
jmcrobbie's review
4.0
This book was so good that I didn’t even mind that I had to think about sports while reading it.
jaimeeslitlife's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-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
arisbookcorner's review
funny
reflective
sad
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
3.5
stephszeto's review
2.0
Started off vaguely promising, but I really did not care for any of the characters and how all their messy lives intertwined with each other. I think there was some kind of insight there about East vs West cultures and relations, but I don’t know what that was.
lucywan's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
3rian's review
2.0
I could see what the author was going for, starting with a mirror of the Jeremy Lin “Linsanity” basketball phenomenon, setting up genuinely interesting themes about race and masculinity before pivoting into a Korean television drama framework. It’s a really interesting and promising combination. The pacing of the book is carried by switching narrators as well as presenting the chapters as brief vignettes (only a few pages each).
Unfortunately, the end result felt rather unfocused and underwhelming for me. I kept wanting to find an “in” with the story and characters and was disappointed that I couldn’t really click with any of it it.
Unfortunately, the end result felt rather unfocused and underwhelming for me. I kept wanting to find an “in” with the story and characters and was disappointed that I couldn’t really click with any of it it.
newbatteri's review
5.0
This book is great! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll howl!! I had a lot of fun editing this one!
It's been called a Most Anticipated/Best Book of the Month by: USA Today, Salon, Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Vulture, Chicago Review of Books, The Orange County Register, Powell's, Book Culture, and Apple Books!
Ron Charles of The Washington Post says, "What Salesses does here is a remarkable feat of artistic prowess that somehow blends the themes of K-drama with the spectacle of sports drama in a way that resets our frame of reference for the Korean American experience. Indeed, it’s a move that doesn’t seem entirely possible until you see the jump yourself."
And Kristen Evans over at The Boston Globe says, "Throughout The Sense of Wonder, Salesses refuses to shy away from frank discussions of race or racism, even as he centers the hopes and fears, frustrations and professional triumphs, of his protagonists. Salesses also declines to bench a complex formal device that would, in the hands of a lesser writer, dissolve under pressure as the clock runs out. Above all, the novel chooses itself. Like 'the Wonder' or 'Linsanity,' you may just have to see it to believe."
It's been called a Most Anticipated/Best Book of the Month by: USA Today, Salon, Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Vulture, Chicago Review of Books, The Orange County Register, Powell's, Book Culture, and Apple Books!
Ron Charles of The Washington Post says, "What Salesses does here is a remarkable feat of artistic prowess that somehow blends the themes of K-drama with the spectacle of sports drama in a way that resets our frame of reference for the Korean American experience. Indeed, it’s a move that doesn’t seem entirely possible until you see the jump yourself."
And Kristen Evans over at The Boston Globe says, "Throughout The Sense of Wonder, Salesses refuses to shy away from frank discussions of race or racism, even as he centers the hopes and fears, frustrations and professional triumphs, of his protagonists. Salesses also declines to bench a complex formal device that would, in the hands of a lesser writer, dissolve under pressure as the clock runs out. Above all, the novel chooses itself. Like 'the Wonder' or 'Linsanity,' you may just have to see it to believe."