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hello_lovely13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.75
As someone that doesn’t typically read sci-fi, this blew me away. I personally preferred the stories centered around the engaged couple because it was the easier ones to read. There was such a hopeful and determined voice to it that made me invested in the story and the couple finally reuniting (I started to tear up a bit when he found all the notes she left him in the church ). I really liked the other two, which were far more philosophical; they just took so much more brain power to read. It had a lot of interesting things to say about individuality versus community, and what it means to make rules and who is defined as an outsider or “right.” How the second story of this. philosophical set ended made sense, but also made me a bit sad. The fact that everything began over again, with Naban eventually fight for the underdog so that the "corrupted" beings weren't so persecuted or repressed was quite insightful and unexpected, but it was ultimately to the benefit of the message. Overall, I definitely recommend this; it is definitely now one of my favorite sci-fi books of all time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Confinement
Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Animal death
beccaand's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Physical abuse
laurareads87's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Beautiful -- just beautiful. While the title suggests a collection of 4 short stories, I'm Waiting for You and Other Stories by Kim Bo-young is actually very cohesive: the first and final stories are interconnecting sets of letters (the first written by an unnamed man to the woman he intends to marry, and the last the letters written to him by his unnamed fiance) and the middle two stories form a pair as well. The worldbuilding is stunning throughout, and the writing is gorgeous -- I cannot speak to the translation vs the original but I must assume the translators did a wonderful job. I would personally recommend exploring the glossary at the back of the book before reading the second and third stories. There are so many themes explored here -- the impact of a single life, the experience of the passing of time, hierarchy + freedom, love, memory, and identity -- this book will appeal to those seeking philosophical sci-fi.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Physical abuse
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