Reviews

A Sorrow Named Joy by Sarah Chorn

tomperignon's review

5.0

I've never cried whilst reading a book before. But I came very, very close in this one.

Joy loves nothing more than to be of service to her husband, Mike. She lives for routine and for everything to be of purpose. Everything Joy does in a day is in response to how Mike would perceive it. when Joy finds a photo of her and Mike on the beach in Hawaii, she realizes she has no recollection of that memory.

What is memory? Can memory be learnt? Once Joy has the answer to why she doesn't remember the photo (insert spoiler here) she begins to ask herself, "what does it mean to be alive?"
And most importantly what does it mean when you are alive but you are not happy? If your happiness was once rooted to one thing (Mike, in this case) and if Mike is no longer in the picture... Can you find happiness outside of what you considered your entire life view?

Beautiful, sad, happy, and uplifting this is a wonderful short story about finding yourself in even the smallest of things. 5/5. Definitely recommend.

ckatie454's review

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sugamamachris's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

chargriffith's review

fast-paced

4.25

welkinvault's review

emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.0

Well the premise was not a suprise, we've all come across versions of the Stepford Wives, and the ending was sweet.  Middle section, as Joy was reflecting on feelings she did not fully comprehend, was the best bit. 

keandrews95's review

5.0

Heartfelt and deep

This is the first of Chorn's works I've read, and based on this, I'm excited to dive into more of her stories! This piece captured so many nuanced and tough feelings in a beautiful way. I had so many favorite lines. The coloring page cover fits so well. At first I was not a fan of Joy's personality in the beginning but then when the plot twist happened, it all made sense. If anything, I almost wanted this story to hurt me a bit more to balance out the sweetness, but this was still a really great story I'm going to be thinking about for awhile.

tashillia's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

tuftymctavish's review

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Something odd… then, “oh!” as I found out the back story.