Reviews

The first half was excellent, but the author moves a lot more toward telling instead of showing in the second half. I was most interested in the parts of the story that took place in Korea.

heatherrrr's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative slow-paced

4.0

thain's review against another edition

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4.0

Insightful story of family, identity and belonging and the secrets we keep to protect those we love.

ckjesq's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this book - maybe because my daughter is Chinese and she was taken from her homeland as a baby - what does she do to protect me from her sorrow at not being raised in the home of her birth? This story has given me much food for thought

el_163's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

4.0

black_girl_reading's review against another edition

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4.0

The book, about a South Korean family separated from reunion with their youngest child through what was planned to be a short visit to America to set up a church (as promised by their leaving their daughter to be raised by family in Seoul) that is delayed for years and years due to the Korean war and subsequent political issues. I liked this book. I was so immersed in the storyline. I loved that the pull of parents was subsumed by the love of the family that raises you, and the place that you know. This book told of grief that I could feel in my bones. Yet. There were so many small details, the secrets of the title, that sometimes took the book to almost maudlin places for me. The writing about them was sometimes so flowery and ungrounded, it didn’t fit with the book. Also, some periods were so detailed, while others flew by in significantly shorter chapters, feeling somewhat unbalanced. Finally, I understand that Christianity was a huge part of the history of this family, and of South Korea, but sometimes parts of this book felt a bit like proselytizing. I don’t know how you write the largeness of religion into a family without selling it wholesale, which is not the purpose of a novel. Anyways, I’m going to read Kim’s first novel, and assume there will be another saga for this family in another decade or so! Thanks net galley for the arc, opinions are my own.

mandalamanta08's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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