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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really enjoyed the writing and perspective, though it was tough to not be able to go deeper. I’ve been in a reading slump for 2 months, and this was an easy and fast read. Recommend
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A challenging read, for sure, but incredibly riveting. The prose was all so lyrical and, while it took a little while to get used to, the way Kwon chose to omit dialogue markers was really effective. I don’t know how much I honestly enjoyed the book, down to the content mainly, but I couldn’t put it down and I would certainly recommend it.
I think the most interesting thing for me was Will as an unreliable narrator. While the chapter markers are denoted to different characters, there’s clear language in the text that Will is often speculating on the events that took place. We don’t know the full truth because he doesn’t. And what’s more, so much of this story is about how perception colors everything. Will uses this to his advantage when trying to fit in a Noxhurst, but never fully admits that his own perception of Phoebe may have colored so much of their relationship and what he thinks he knows about her. Since the story is told as Phoebe’s movements and thoughts through Will’s eyes, it’s hard to genuinely say that we as the audience truly know Phoebe. Their relationship, as well, though presented as deeply loving in Will’s words, often felt a little off-putting to me. A lot of flaws they each had were somewhat exacerbated by their relationship and I was uncomfortable with it long before Will did what he did. I think it’s a huge testament to Kwon’s skill that while everything Will put forth was depicting two young adults in love and working things out, there’s still the undercurrent of the author peeling back the layers to show the readers that something is off. I can’t recall any other books I might’ve read with an unrealizable narrator, at least not recently enough that I could pick apart what made them effective or not, but I think this is an excellent use of and unreliable narrator and done expertly.
The cult aspect was properly chilling. Kwon does a really fantastic job of showing the gradual escalation as well as the ways people falling into cults begin pulling away from the people they love. Even knowing from the start what it would turn out to be, it is plausible to see how the initial meetings could’ve seemed innocuous. I really liked the detail of Will noticing the server at the first dinner party, the immediate recognition that something isn’t quite right here. It could be something that’s explained away, but since Will is retelling these events in hindsight he mentions it specifically to draw attention to what this will become later down the road. The short bursts in John Leal’s perspective, too, migrating from longer narratives about his apparent experience up until this point down to single paragraphs, then finally a single line, were so effective. Paralleling Will both being on the outside and no longer privy to what he was really doing, as well as Will’s disillusionment and fill realization of what he was doing. It also did a great job of showing how loneliness can look very different to different people and cults or cult leaders know how to see that and exploit it. All of it was just a really good example of growing control and escalating acts and it was as much frustrating as it was understandable. I think it really helps drive home the fact that anyone can fall into this.
This also is, for me, one of the best examples of having flawed and even unlikeable characters (and I really did not like Will by the end) but still rooting for them. I wanted Will to be able to pull Phoebe out, I wanted Phoebe to realize what was happening, and I even wanted them to end up happy for a moment or two (though, not often just because I didn’t think it was a very healthy relationship to begin with), but I didn’t particularly like either of them very much. I certainly sympathized with them and cared about them, but they’re definitely people I probably would’ve clashed with if I’d known real life versions of them.
There’s certainly a lot to be said about this book and a lot of points to discuss. Parental relationships, immigrant parents and children and the expectations that come with moving to and growing up in America, Christianity and fanaticism, death and grief and unhealthy coping mechanisms. It’s a very dense book for its length and I’m not even sure I absorbed everything in a way that I could talk about some things with any degree of depth. Kwon wove a brilliant story with so much intricacy and complexity and I’m really captivated by it. I’m still this one will linger for a while.
I think the most interesting thing for me was Will as an unreliable narrator. While the chapter markers are denoted to different characters, there’s clear language in the text that Will is often speculating on the events that took place. We don’t know the full truth because he doesn’t. And what’s more, so much of this story is about how perception colors everything. Will uses this to his advantage when trying to fit in a Noxhurst, but never fully admits that his own perception of Phoebe may have colored so much of their relationship and what he thinks he knows about her. Since the story is told as Phoebe’s movements and thoughts through Will’s eyes, it’s hard to genuinely say that we as the audience truly know Phoebe. Their relationship, as well, though presented as deeply loving in Will’s words, often felt a little off-putting to me. A lot of flaws they each had were somewhat exacerbated by their relationship and I was uncomfortable with it long before Will did what he did. I think it’s a huge testament to Kwon’s skill that while everything Will put forth was depicting two young adults in love and working things out, there’s still the undercurrent of the author peeling back the layers to show the readers that something is off. I can’t recall any other books I might’ve read with an unrealizable narrator, at least not recently enough that I could pick apart what made them effective or not, but I think this is an excellent use of and unreliable narrator and done expertly.
The cult aspect was properly chilling. Kwon does a really fantastic job of showing the gradual escalation as well as the ways people falling into cults begin pulling away from the people they love. Even knowing from the start what it would turn out to be, it is plausible to see how the initial meetings could’ve seemed innocuous. I really liked the detail of Will noticing the server at the first dinner party, the immediate recognition that something isn’t quite right here. It could be something that’s explained away, but since Will is retelling these events in hindsight he mentions it specifically to draw attention to what this will become later down the road. The short bursts in John Leal’s perspective, too, migrating from longer narratives about his apparent experience up until this point down to single paragraphs, then finally a single line, were so effective. Paralleling Will both being on the outside and no longer privy to what he was really doing, as well as Will’s disillusionment and fill realization of what he was doing. It also did a great job of showing how loneliness can look very different to different people and cults or cult leaders know how to see that and exploit it. All of it was just a really good example of growing control and escalating acts and it was as much frustrating as it was understandable. I think it really helps drive home the fact that anyone can fall into this.
This also is, for me, one of the best examples of having flawed and even unlikeable characters (and I really did not like Will by the end) but still rooting for them. I wanted Will to be able to pull Phoebe out, I wanted Phoebe to realize what was happening, and I even wanted them to end up happy for a moment or two (though, not often just because I didn’t think it was a very healthy relationship to begin with), but I didn’t particularly like either of them very much. I certainly sympathized with them and cared about them, but they’re definitely people I probably would’ve clashed with if I’d known real life versions of them.
There’s certainly a lot to be said about this book and a lot of points to discuss. Parental relationships, immigrant parents and children and the expectations that come with moving to and growing up in America, Christianity and fanaticism, death and grief and unhealthy coping mechanisms. It’s a very dense book for its length and I’m not even sure I absorbed everything in a way that I could talk about some things with any degree of depth. Kwon wove a brilliant story with so much intricacy and complexity and I’m really captivated by it. I’m still this one will linger for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Sexism, Religious bigotry
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not bad, but something of a promising setup that fizzled out. The perspective's is basically Will's telling three parts, one of which (John Leal's, the cult leader's) is so ephemeral as to be taken of left without much difference. For the most part, Will's story works, and the prose... short, choppy, intellectually slanted but brief... is perfectly fine. His obsessiveness is actually well placed for an undergraduate student, an age when everything seems so dramatic and life-altering. The college experience seemed less than convincing however. I've never read a book set at a college that could so easily have been moved elsewhere -- there is more to college life than drinking at frats, costume parties, townie bars, scholarships, and more drinking. Even if the college experience wasn't the point entirely, it left a void near the center of the novel. The bigger coid, though, is Pheobe, who basically disappears from the story right as the plot hinges ever more on her character and motivations. In the end, everything ends up elliptical and tangential because the core isn't there. Great start, frustrating finish.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes