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icecreamemperor's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-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
romatrashperla's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-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
3.0
bentohbox's review
4.0
The beauty and nature of this book lies in the path by which you learn about the main character. Not a linear birth to death, typical of many stories, but a meandering narrative, rife with opinion and lack thereof, beginning when you first meet and extending backwards. Isn't that how we meet almost everyone?
As someone of Korean heritage, my sense is that it might be tough for anyone without ancestral connection to the atrocities of WWII in the Pacific to relate so well to this particular piece. Just as we in America are reminded that legal segregation or Jim Crow atrocities were not so far in our past, so too should we remember that we are not so far removed from the subjugation of Korea, and other Asian countries, at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Military. For me, one fundamental component of this novel is treating it as such -- a piece of real life rather than a line in a textbook.
As a reader, Lee also forces you to grapple with the complex character of Doc Hata, a man of multiple identities, complicated history, and frustratingly continued ambiguity. It's this incessant conflict, which only grows in complexity as the novel goes on, that drives its narrative forward. In the end, there is no black and white or correct judgment, only shades of grey and perspective. It is a tragedy, a history, a narrative, and an exploration all in one.
The novel's arc and themes conjure a couple of questions I've considered in life as well -- what would people think of you if they knew your past? What obligations do we have to each other and ourselves? Who can we trust to be there for us, rather than for themselves? How can we be open, selflessly, to others when we're conditioned to only give as much as necessary?
As someone of Korean heritage, my sense is that it might be tough for anyone without ancestral connection to the atrocities of WWII in the Pacific to relate so well to this particular piece. Just as we in America are reminded that legal segregation or Jim Crow atrocities were not so far in our past, so too should we remember that we are not so far removed from the subjugation of Korea, and other Asian countries, at the hands of the Japanese Imperial Military. For me, one fundamental component of this novel is treating it as such -- a piece of real life rather than a line in a textbook.
As a reader, Lee also forces you to grapple with the complex character of Doc Hata, a man of multiple identities, complicated history, and frustratingly continued ambiguity. It's this incessant conflict, which only grows in complexity as the novel goes on, that drives its narrative forward. In the end, there is no black and white or correct judgment, only shades of grey and perspective. It is a tragedy, a history, a narrative, and an exploration all in one.
The novel's arc and themes conjure a couple of questions I've considered in life as well -- what would people think of you if they knew your past? What obligations do we have to each other and ourselves? Who can we trust to be there for us, rather than for themselves? How can we be open, selflessly, to others when we're conditioned to only give as much as necessary?
biobibliophile's review
3.0
I'm horrible with making time to write these and one day I will, but the prose is beautiful in this story, often evoking the pain and desolation described by the author.
jdmcn's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
marie_gg's review
3.0
http://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-gesture-life.html
A Gesture Life is another book that was really hard to get into, but the patience paid off. If it hadn't been a book group selection, I might not have stuck with it.
Franklin Hata was a man who was difficult to admire or respect, because he seemed cold and heartless. His stilted relationship with his adopted daughter Sunny just made me sad. He had a chronic difficulty in relating to anyone on a deep, true level.
Presumably, this was because of his difficult experiences in the war and his obsession with K, a Korean "comfort woman." The storyline about the comfort women made me truly sick to my stomach. Apparently when Chang-Rae Lee began writing this novel, it was going to be all about comfort women, but he found that to be too heavy of a subject. His obsession with K reminded me of the foreign men I knew in Japan who were obsessed with Japanese women...many of them ended up marrying them and staying in Japan. They were drawn to them because they were less likely to challenge them than western women. They liked the way the Japanese women looked up to them. Often, these men would not have been classified as "catches" in the US or UK. These relationships were not very equal.
That is the relationship between Franklin and K. He thinks he loves her, but she only views him as one more man who is taking advantage of her. In his case, perhaps he can help her a little. But he means nothing to her.
I appreciated this book more after discussing it with my book group. Some of them liked it better than I did, and one of my friends observed that perhaps it was the way she had been raised, with more distant parenting. That could be.
It was beautifully written, but a little bit disappointing for me. I expected more, and I found it to be really sad.
A Gesture Life is another book that was really hard to get into, but the patience paid off. If it hadn't been a book group selection, I might not have stuck with it.
Franklin Hata was a man who was difficult to admire or respect, because he seemed cold and heartless. His stilted relationship with his adopted daughter Sunny just made me sad. He had a chronic difficulty in relating to anyone on a deep, true level.
Presumably, this was because of his difficult experiences in the war and his obsession with K, a Korean "comfort woman." The storyline about the comfort women made me truly sick to my stomach. Apparently when Chang-Rae Lee began writing this novel, it was going to be all about comfort women, but he found that to be too heavy of a subject. His obsession with K reminded me of the foreign men I knew in Japan who were obsessed with Japanese women...many of them ended up marrying them and staying in Japan. They were drawn to them because they were less likely to challenge them than western women. They liked the way the Japanese women looked up to them. Often, these men would not have been classified as "catches" in the US or UK. These relationships were not very equal.
That is the relationship between Franklin and K. He thinks he loves her, but she only views him as one more man who is taking advantage of her. In his case, perhaps he can help her a little. But he means nothing to her.
I appreciated this book more after discussing it with my book group. Some of them liked it better than I did, and one of my friends observed that perhaps it was the way she had been raised, with more distant parenting. That could be.
It was beautifully written, but a little bit disappointing for me. I expected more, and I found it to be really sad.
tshrope's review
4.0
Chang-rae Lee is an amazing writer. I can’t remember the last time I read writing this good from a Contemporary writer, his prose are beautiful. The story itself is rather secondary to the writing, and honestly in a lesser writer’s hands I would have stopped reading it. The story line is basically two-fold, Franklin Hata’s experience as a Japanese military field medic during WWII where he falls in love with a Korean Comfort woman, and his life in an upper middle-class NY suburb after the war. The story lines are rather depressing and not particularly compelling. I can see why some people have said in reviews that it is boring, and disjointed, but he does such a wonderful job of getting in the skin of Franklin Hata that he pulls you into the character makes you feel Hata’s own quiet desperation.
Lee explores many themes in this book, identity (racial and social), what makes up a life?-is it one that you set up as a window display, or is it one that you actually live and experience without thought of the consequences, and of course it is about relationships; father-daughter, friendships, and romantic love.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading excellent writing, and it would make a good book club selection to explore and discuss the many themes and Hata’s character. This is a book that will no be everyone’s cup of tea though.
Lee explores many themes in this book, identity (racial and social), what makes up a life?-is it one that you set up as a window display, or is it one that you actually live and experience without thought of the consequences, and of course it is about relationships; father-daughter, friendships, and romantic love.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading excellent writing, and it would make a good book club selection to explore and discuss the many themes and Hata’s character. This is a book that will no be everyone’s cup of tea though.
shannon97's review
5.0
I loved this book more and more the further I got into it. The main character fascinated me. He is an older man from Japan - ethnically Korean - living in a small Midwestern town. He is careful to always do the right thing. Present the right appearance. He describes himself as well respected - someone that others come to for help and advice. Only around the edges of his description of his life do you see the moments of casual racism that he pretends not to notice, and the fact that he has no real relationships with the people around him. He swims in emotionally shallow waters - as if he is an observer of his own life, watching from the outside.
As the book unfolds, this begins to make sense and his internal life slowly becomes more clear. Throughout the book, you have to listen just as hard to what Mr. Hata does NOT say as to what he does say. And look closely at the way people in his life respond to him. It is when he starts remembering his experiences in WWII and the Korean "comfort women" that came to his camp that his character becomes less of an enigma. We see him as a young man, trying to normalize the horrors he is witnessing. As ever, wanting to present the correct front. Even when he tries to take a stand, he is incapable of admitting the full truth of the situation he is confronted with.
Toward the end of the book, cracks start to appear in his detachment and he is able to acknowledge the depths of his feelings and the way he has failed the people in his life. It is remarkable how clearly and how deeply Chang-rae Lee is able to develop a character that is so shut down. By the end of the book, I had tremendous compassion for him despite some terrible things he did. He is one of those characters that stay with you well after you finish the book.
As the book unfolds, this begins to make sense and his internal life slowly becomes more clear. Throughout the book, you have to listen just as hard to what Mr. Hata does NOT say as to what he does say. And look closely at the way people in his life respond to him. It is when he starts remembering his experiences in WWII and the Korean "comfort women" that came to his camp that his character becomes less of an enigma. We see him as a young man, trying to normalize the horrors he is witnessing. As ever, wanting to present the correct front. Even when he tries to take a stand, he is incapable of admitting the full truth of the situation he is confronted with.
Toward the end of the book, cracks start to appear in his detachment and he is able to acknowledge the depths of his feelings and the way he has failed the people in his life. It is remarkable how clearly and how deeply Chang-rae Lee is able to develop a character that is so shut down. By the end of the book, I had tremendous compassion for him despite some terrible things he did. He is one of those characters that stay with you well after you finish the book.