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egilmore's review against another edition
4.0
Harrowing. Some parts were too postmodern for me to fully grasp, but this cracks the hard shell of history as it has been told, and demands we follow up, research more, look closer at the false moral dichotomy between wrong and right, north and south.
jrboudreau's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
bleales's review against another edition
5.0
this book was actually just fucking stunning - literarily, physically, visually, structurally, etc. i’m so glad i found a physical copy of this because the way the prose (?) was structured along with the photography and scans were just so so striking. i’ll admit some of the content went a bit over my head but i feel like part of that may have been the point! translation is hard! narratives of war are messy! thoughts are not coherent!!!! anyways this was such an incredible read but also very heavy - i had to put it down and take a break at some points because some of the descriptions were so graphic. the notes at the end were definitely very helpful and needed. gonna stare at the wall for a bit now… yea
stadarooni's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
kikilog's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
3.0
This book is more of a contemporary art piece than a piece of informative literature. Throughout the book you gain insight into some happenings during, and after, the Korean war (such as the US backed Dictatorship). However some sections are difficult to understand and I felt lost with some of the metaphors and symbolism used.
Really more so an art piece you look at; instead of trying too hard to understand it in its entirety.
Really more so an art piece you look at; instead of trying too hard to understand it in its entirety.
annebennett1957's review against another edition
3.0
This is hard book to understand. I recommend just trying to experience it rather than trying to intellectualize the material. The book using the DMZ between South and North Korea as symbolism for navigating historical and literary boundaries. In a lot of ways "it holds history accountable" for the travesties of the Korean War.
2021 National Poetry Month and review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2021/04/poetry-seems-to-call-out-to-me-and-i.html
2021 National Poetry Month and review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2021/04/poetry-seems-to-call-out-to-me-and-i.html