Scan barcode
zriley2000's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lezreadalot's review against another edition
4.0
I’m going to survive very quietly. I’ll protect good things until I die.
Oooof. This was very bleak, but it has to be one of my favourite pieces of translated fiction I've ever consumed, just in terms of the writing. The plot concerns a near future dystopia, where the world has fallen to pieces after a global pandemic (this was written in 2017; yikes!) Everything is anarchy, and we're following various characters as they flee Korea and travel around Europe and try to survive. I don't think this is spectacularly written or anything (in fact, it has quite a lot of my formatting nitpicks and I'm surprised I was able to even read it) but something about the way the author phrased certain ideas or came at a concept very simply would often really get to me. In some ways, you could tell it was translated, because things would sometimes be phrased in a really specific way that I've never seen before? And idk, I love stuff like that.
Fearing separation, we embraced to become one, as if to show each other our bare hearts, as if to check what this was before naming it. As if sharing each other in this way was our only hope brushing past us.
The narrative is very disjointed; you don't get a very concrete sense of time, and we jump from different POVs without any real order to it. That did fit the mood though, with all the chaos and the pain. There's a really wonderful f/f love story in here, and I'm also weak for narratives about finding love in bleak situations. So many horrible things happened, and it was written about so starkly, but Dori and Jina's story really touched me. I also adored the sisterly bonds in here, as well as Ryu ruminating about her life as a wife and mother. So many great little gems of writing contained in this little book. (Also, now I'm super curious to read 'Annam'.) I'm glad I'm in a place now where I can read this kind of dark pandemic fiction; this was pretty special. Kudos to the translation for keeping the nuance of what I'm sure was already a very skilfully written book in the original Korean. I don't know if I can really recommend this for the plot (the timeline and the way things fell out didn't seem the most plausible) but I just really liked the writing.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
multiple instances of rape, attempted rape, murder, violence, goreWhat could I ask of Joy in my dying moment? I love you. I will ask her to look after love.
gayadorno's review
dark
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
ghostbird12's review against another edition
5.0
“Hope might not lie in any continent that I must walk to reach, but in time instead. A bright, warm season that appears as the Earth revolves at its own pace around the sun. The only thing we can do as humans may be to live on and welcome that season.”
truly and unbelievably devastating, i could barely finish the book because i was crying so hard. this book was so dark and scary at times but the love and connection between the characters felt so real and urgent, especially dori’s love for her sister. joy’s POV chapter absolutely destroyed me. definitely a book i’ll be thinking about for a while.
i’m kind of surprised that this book has so many low ratings, but i think this book is very specific and you have to know what to expect from it. i really really loved the writing style but i can see how some people might not like it, especially since it is translated from korean. it’s also not very focused on world building, there are no details about the virus or larger world events. this didn’t bother me at all but i went into the book expecting it would be pretty much only focused on the characters.
truly and unbelievably devastating, i could barely finish the book because i was crying so hard. this book was so dark and scary at times but the love and connection between the characters felt so real and urgent, especially dori’s love for her sister. joy’s POV chapter absolutely destroyed me. definitely a book i’ll be thinking about for a while.
i’m kind of surprised that this book has so many low ratings, but i think this book is very specific and you have to know what to expect from it. i really really loved the writing style but i can see how some people might not like it, especially since it is translated from korean. it’s also not very focused on world building, there are no details about the virus or larger world events. this didn’t bother me at all but i went into the book expecting it would be pretty much only focused on the characters.
adam613's review
2.0
"There's both responsibility and madness within me. I can't say the two are mutually exclusive."
To The Warm Horizon by Choi Jin-Young translated by Soje takes us on a journey through the cold barren Russian landscape with various groups trying to outrun a deadly virus. Told through the points of view of four characters, we see the vastness not only of the setting but also the emotions of the characters. Many fall evil to the new post-apocalyptic reality while others seek the spirit of connection and kinship at any cost. Though this is billed as a love story, it is by no means sappy or totally unrealistic. My favourite read so far from Honford.
To The Warm Horizon by Choi Jin-Young translated by Soje takes us on a journey through the cold barren Russian landscape with various groups trying to outrun a deadly virus. Told through the points of view of four characters, we see the vastness not only of the setting but also the emotions of the characters. Many fall evil to the new post-apocalyptic reality while others seek the spirit of connection and kinship at any cost. Though this is billed as a love story, it is by no means sappy or totally unrealistic. My favourite read so far from Honford.
literally_hannah's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-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? N/A
4.75
jtisgreen's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
mimosaeyes's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A deadly and fast-acting virus pandemic devastates the world, and the main characters flee from Korea to Russia (for some reason...) and attempt to survive while retaining their humanity. This is pretty standard fare for post-apocalyptic fiction. But I wanted to check out this book because I'd never read a Korean book in this genre before, nor a Korean book with lesbians in the blurb.
This is a bleak story for the most part, showing how people can devolve to ugliness and ruthlessness under extreme circumstances. Specifically, this happens along gendered lines, with most of the men in the story ending up in positions of power over women and children, and enacting violence on their bodies. They get killed or raped - content warning for that. In such bleakness, Jina and Dori's love for each other is positioned as a beacon of hope. Maybe not quite a beacon. A small, wavering flashlight at best. But still there.
I like how the backstories and relationships of the ensemble cast are fleshed out. I find Ryu and Dori especially compelling. On the other hand, the plot structure feels a bit anticlimactic. Awful things happen and the female leads have barely any agency, and then it just ends. On the plus side, though, the prose is really lovely at times. It's not flowery language, but it excels in getting across big ideas in simple images.
This is a bleak story for the most part, showing how people can devolve to ugliness and ruthlessness under extreme circumstances. Specifically, this happens along gendered lines, with most of the men in the story ending up in positions of power over women and children, and enacting violence on their bodies. They get killed or raped - content warning for that. In such bleakness, Jina and Dori's love for each other is positioned as a beacon of hope. Maybe not quite a beacon. A small, wavering flashlight at best. But still there.
I like how the backstories and relationships of the ensemble cast are fleshed out. I find Ryu and Dori especially compelling. On the other hand, the plot structure feels a bit anticlimactic. Awful things happen and the female leads have barely any agency, and then it just ends. On the plus side, though, the prose is really lovely at times. It's not flowery language, but it excels in getting across big ideas in simple images.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
katydaly's review
3.0
3.5
Written in a plain, yet beautiful, way. Desperately bleak but easy to devour.
My favourite passages were from the beginning, as the characters came to terms with their new apocalyptic surroundings and reflected on the mundanity they took for granted in their previous lives:
“If nothing happened, nothing would’ve happened.
We would’ve continued to not own the house we lived in. We would’ve started paying off another loan as soon as we were done with the first. We would’ve occasionally pushed death aside with the words, I’m so exhausted I could die. We would’ve whittled each of our own lives away, silently and ever so calmly.”
Written in a plain, yet beautiful, way. Desperately bleak but easy to devour.
My favourite passages were from the beginning, as the characters came to terms with their new apocalyptic surroundings and reflected on the mundanity they took for granted in their previous lives:
“If nothing happened, nothing would’ve happened.
We would’ve continued to not own the house we lived in. We would’ve started paying off another loan as soon as we were done with the first. We would’ve occasionally pushed death aside with the words, I’m so exhausted I could die. We would’ve whittled each of our own lives away, silently and ever so calmly.”
jaybird0094's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0