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clone's review
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Murder
cherrie_bluhd's review
5.0
I think there are a lot of things (naturally, because I’m not Korean or Korean American) that I missed in reading this. I thought that wouldn’t bother me as much as it does now that I’ve finished it, but now it feels naive to not have done at least some research. Still, I think the book is meant to be confusing, unsettled, and unsatisfying in how it sees both the North and the South. Or at least I assume. There were some moments when I really loved the book, and some when I really didn’t, but I always wanted to keep reading. Maybe a good ending is all I need to give a good review, but I loved this book even if I feel simultaneously a million other emotions about it too. Still figuring out a process to approach literature in translation, but it was, of course, a real pleasure to read anyways.
theseventhl's review
4.0
Another brilliant, powerful novel by Young-ha Kim. A mix of political thriller and personal drama that just wins on all fronts. Some of Ma-ri's scenes had me wincing from the bluntness of them (and her final confrontation with Ki-Yong still has me reeling a bit) but overall it's a stellar volume. Hopefully, Kim's novel will succeed enough to prove that his other works should also be translated into English.
lsparrow's review
3.0
I am not usually into spy novels. Perhaps it was this look into life in Korea that had me the most hooked into this book.
shmeeves's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
mariemarya's review
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Vomit and Torture
nerissassippi's review
4.0
The entire book takes place over 24 hours when a North Korean spy has to decide whether or not to give up his peaceful life in Seoul and return north. It was a page-turning look into how little we know about the people closest to us and how difficult it is to decide what we value most.
mldias's review
4.0
Your Republic Is Calling You is more than just a piece of Korean literature. It is, on some levels, a Korean Ulysses.
Like in Ulysses, events unfold over the course of one day. In this case, the day is divided into chapters with timestamped titles. A husband and wife (along with their teenage daughter) diverge at the beginning of the story, not to reconvene until the end of the day after coping with their greater geocultural reality. Ma-ri, embroiled in an affair with a younger man, is not unlike Joyce's Molly Bloom. Her lover, Song-uk, is no Blazes Boylan, but he is similarly superfluous, more of a distraction to Ma-ri than a genuine partner. Perhaps most striking is Ma-ri's soliloquy at the end, a smaller-scale version of Molly Bloom's soliloquy, unveiling long-suppressed emotion and a sudden rediscovery of self.
Ki-yong, Mari's husband, has been suppressing some things himself. For starters, he is no native South Korean; he is a spy for North Korea, trained on an elaborate stage set of Seoul. Hyon-mi, the daughter, is finally setting into a normal school routine after quitting competitive Go tournaments and remains unaware of what a seminal day this is for both parents.
The novel explores aspects of Seoul's and Pyongyang's respective cultures--the differences, but also some uncanny similarities between the two. Japan looms large, making cameo appearances in the form of cinema, anime, and literature (namely, Mishima and Soseki). Though Japan's occupation was a century ago, its strong influence endures. The west plays no small role, either. There are ample allusions to western films, books, food items, and thinkers. In this regard, Young-ha Kim's South Korea lacks a cohesive identity, instead drawing inspiration from both the east and west (and, in some regards, the immediate north). It is as dazed and confused as the characters who populate it.
Several characters in this novel are as divided as Korea itself; there is a recurrent theme of "splitting." Ki-yong has spent exactly half his life in North Korea and the other half in South Korea, and is no longer certain which country represents his true self, which half is his true half. Elsewhere, the teenage Jing-guk creates an alter ego, whom he passes off as his [imaginary:] orphaned friend, to give voice to his most troubling impulses.
Your Republic Is Calling You seems destined for greatness. Young-ha Kim has done for Korea what Ma Jian and Gao Xingjian have done for China: illuminated the good-bad-and-ugly of his country with insight and awareness that an outsider could never achieve.
(Disclaimer: I received the galley proofs of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for review.)
Like in Ulysses, events unfold over the course of one day. In this case, the day is divided into chapters with timestamped titles. A husband and wife (along with their teenage daughter) diverge at the beginning of the story, not to reconvene until the end of the day after coping with their greater geocultural reality. Ma-ri, embroiled in an affair with a younger man, is not unlike Joyce's Molly Bloom. Her lover, Song-uk, is no Blazes Boylan, but he is similarly superfluous, more of a distraction to Ma-ri than a genuine partner. Perhaps most striking is Ma-ri's soliloquy at the end, a smaller-scale version of Molly Bloom's soliloquy, unveiling long-suppressed emotion and a sudden rediscovery of self.
Ki-yong, Mari's husband, has been suppressing some things himself. For starters, he is no native South Korean; he is a spy for North Korea, trained on an elaborate stage set of Seoul. Hyon-mi, the daughter, is finally setting into a normal school routine after quitting competitive Go tournaments and remains unaware of what a seminal day this is for both parents.
The novel explores aspects of Seoul's and Pyongyang's respective cultures--the differences, but also some uncanny similarities between the two. Japan looms large, making cameo appearances in the form of cinema, anime, and literature (namely, Mishima and Soseki). Though Japan's occupation was a century ago, its strong influence endures. The west plays no small role, either. There are ample allusions to western films, books, food items, and thinkers. In this regard, Young-ha Kim's South Korea lacks a cohesive identity, instead drawing inspiration from both the east and west (and, in some regards, the immediate north). It is as dazed and confused as the characters who populate it.
Several characters in this novel are as divided as Korea itself; there is a recurrent theme of "splitting." Ki-yong has spent exactly half his life in North Korea and the other half in South Korea, and is no longer certain which country represents his true self, which half is his true half. Elsewhere, the teenage Jing-guk creates an alter ego, whom he passes off as his [imaginary:] orphaned friend, to give voice to his most troubling impulses.
Your Republic Is Calling You seems destined for greatness. Young-ha Kim has done for Korea what Ma Jian and Gao Xingjian have done for China: illuminated the good-bad-and-ugly of his country with insight and awareness that an outsider could never achieve.
(Disclaimer: I received the galley proofs of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for review.)