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ghostgurl's review
1.0
I didn't get far into this book, I found it boring and not for me. I may try reading it again, but it's not likely.
kdurham2's review
3.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Alice J Kim is living in a post war Korea and although it has been a year since it has ended, she and everyone else is still trying to figure out the new normal and how life will eventually look for them. While she is working at a job as an interpreter she gets an interesting opportunity to help with the visit of Marilyn Monroe and the interactions between these women was fun to imagine!
Alice J Kim is living in a post war Korea and although it has been a year since it has ended, she and everyone else is still trying to figure out the new normal and how life will eventually look for them. While she is working at a job as an interpreter she gets an interesting opportunity to help with the visit of Marilyn Monroe and the interactions between these women was fun to imagine!
lfinkenkeller's review
4.0
I read this book for a book discussion group. I liked the book, and I loved its premise of a Korean woman who knows English escorting Marilyn Monroe on her trip to Korea to visit the troops during the Korean War. Beauty and ugliness are contrasted in this book in so many ways. There is is obvious beauty of Marilyn Monroe contrasted with Alice, the book's main character, who has premature gray hair and burnt hands from her war experiences. Then there is the ugliness of war and how that has caused Alice to see no beauty in anyone, any place, or anything. However, she still longs for that beauty as evidenced when she says at the beginning of Chapter 1 that “Those who endure have a chance at beauty…I have been testing that theory for the last few years." This is a story of Alice's search for the beuaty that is within her.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
5.0
I found the audiobook again while browsing for something new to read and I remembered that I've listened to it before but wanted to do a relisten. Like I said before Marilyn is definitely the one who compels you to pick the book up in the first place. But Alice is the sole heroine of the book and definitely shines lighter then Marilyn in this book. Which isn't something that it easily done I guess. An very intriguing and emotional read with a lot of ups and downs. Added a star this time around
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Set it 1954 it follows Alice, former Kim ae-sun as she starts to be Marilyn Monroe's translator in Seoul during the Korean War and the unlikely friendship that forms between them. This was beautiful and emotional and I'm very happy I finally decided to listen to it. Feels like I've been thinking to read it for years now but never got around to it. Marilyn Monroe was what got me interested in the book but it was Alice that made me continue on with it and enjoy it as much as I did and I don't know why but the end just got to my heart strings.
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Set it 1954 it follows Alice, former Kim ae-sun as she starts to be Marilyn Monroe's translator in Seoul during the Korean War and the unlikely friendship that forms between them. This was beautiful and emotional and I'm very happy I finally decided to listen to it. Feels like I've been thinking to read it for years now but never got around to it. Marilyn Monroe was what got me interested in the book but it was Alice that made me continue on with it and enjoy it as much as I did and I don't know why but the end just got to my heart strings.
suziereadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
If you want to read a book about Marilyn Monroe, you're in the wrong place. If you want to read about the psychological fallout of the Korean war, you're in the right place.
A good book. It felt a bit disjointed but that might have been a language thing, and I didnt understand why Marilyn featured. This didnt detract from the story though. The main character, Alice, was very compelling to read about and I enjoyed following her journey.
A good book. It felt a bit disjointed but that might have been a language thing, and I didnt understand why Marilyn featured. This didnt detract from the story though. The main character, Alice, was very compelling to read about and I enjoyed following her journey.
withherheadstuckinabook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
„I go to work thinking of death“
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What a sucker punch to the readers of Ji-min Lee‘s Marilyn and Me. My last book of 2023 (thank goodness for time zones!). I remember seeing a beautiful booksta (which I have discovered they have deactivated their account which makes me sad) read and review. I found this copy at a @lifelinebookshoplindfield booksale and thought for a good cause lets grab it!
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The story is a fictional tale of when Marilyn Munroe actually went to Korea. Set in the aftermath of the Korean conflict (as they have never declared a truce the war is still ongoing), Marilyn Munroe goes and performs for soldiers stationed there. Alice or Kim Ae-sun is chosen to be her translator for the journey. Alice is a typist for the US military however she is hiding anf dealing with what has occurred during the war. The story goes back in time however does miss the period of the war we know about (but does briefly explain a story line in a VISCERAL way that had my jaw on the floor).
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I was talking to @laceys_library bemoaning how even though its 176 pages it‘s a lot of work to read small stories. We have discussed at great lengths anf I believe also with other booksta‘s about translation and translated works sometimes losing their magic when translated into other languages (in this case Korean to English).
justreads93's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I feel like I got click baited with this book. I thought I was getting a book about Marilyn’s time in Korea during her USO tour told through the perspective of her translator. Instead Marilyn is a side character and really more of a framing device for the main character to tell her harrowing story.
I really don’t know how I feel about the book itself; I think if I had known what I was getting into I would have liked it more. This is a story that is worth telling and worth reading. I feel like I rarely see stories set during the Korean War and this short book was a fascinating character study. But it’s not the book I had wanted to read.
I really don’t know how I feel about the book itself; I think if I had known what I was getting into I would have liked it more. This is a story that is worth telling and worth reading. I feel like I rarely see stories set during the Korean War and this short book was a fascinating character study. But it’s not the book I had wanted to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Infidelity, Death, War, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death