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eswee's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This was beautiful and not what I expected from a murder mystery. This novel isn't just about researching the death of a prison guard, but his life before it. It's about books and poetry a lot, and how they can change a person. Really slow-paced but also very captivating!
kaneebli's review
challenging
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Genocide, War, Murder, Confinement, Colonisation, and Physical abuse
nicolac's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jem_andtonic's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-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
kiru's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
4.25
itsmelauren's review
4.0
This book is such a nice discovery. J. M. Lee shows us a world where freedom is a fragile memory, where perpetrators are sometimes victims too, where torture meets poetry, where kites are flying high even when the spirits are low. Despite the terrible context in which the story takes place, there is a lot of beauty in the way it is written. The author's style is simple but it flows so naturally that I could not stop my eyes from going to the next word and could not refrain my mind from wanting to read the next chapter.
(On a side note though, the title can be a little misleading. This book is not really a murder mystery but focuses on topics like human condition, psychology and poetry!)
Lala's Little Lab on Instagram
(On a side note though, the title can be a little misleading. This book is not really a murder mystery but focuses on topics like human condition, psychology and poetry!)
Lala's Little Lab on Instagram
ginienova's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
thepoptimist's review against another edition
4.0
A guard is found dead, his lips sewn shut, inside Fukuoka prison during WWII. From there we are launched into a crime thriller as the narrator tries to determine who killed the feared and brutal Dozan Sugiyama, known as The Butcher. There are intrigues aplenty and nothing is as simple as it seems on the surface.
But it’s also about the power of poetry, music, literature and the works of Korean poet Yun Dong-ju whose poems have been posthumously published after he perished inside a Japanese prison. It glimpses at the power of words and language.
At times the prose is a little clunky and can read like a script to an overwrought Korean soap opera. But amidst that are the bits of beauty you read books for, paragraphs that come out of nowhere that just floor you. Individual results may vary.
I kept thinking of Station Eleven, which I recently reread, and the adage “survival is insufficient.”
But it’s also about the power of poetry, music, literature and the works of Korean poet Yun Dong-ju whose poems have been posthumously published after he perished inside a Japanese prison. It glimpses at the power of words and language.
At times the prose is a little clunky and can read like a script to an overwrought Korean soap opera. But amidst that are the bits of beauty you read books for, paragraphs that come out of nowhere that just floor you. Individual results may vary.
I kept thinking of Station Eleven, which I recently reread, and the adage “survival is insufficient.”