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mmefish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I took out a low, foldable table from under the bed and wiped the dust with a wet wipe. No matter how much I wiped, there was still dust—how very much like everything else in my life.
Rain still falls during the late rainy season, as do tears even when it's too late.
I have a soft spot for books like this.
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Abortion
Minor: Religious bigotry, Death, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
morebedsidebooks's review
3.0
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Cancer, Car accident, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, and Chronic illness
scifi_rat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Cancer, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Medical content, Abortion, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Transphobia, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Fatphobia, Outing, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
annekay's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Abortion, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Stalking and Emotional abuse
leanne_miron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Cancer, and Medical content
reverie_and_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
“He was the first person who had ever gazed after me that way. For too long, I was caught up in the delusion that wherever I was and whatever I did, he would always be there behind me, waving.“
This novel is about Young, who freezes Marlboros for his best friend and in turn, she stocks frozen blueberries for him. It is about him caring for his sick mother, even though their dynamic is quite difficult. It is also about falling in and out of love, with wrong and right men. The title is very apt: it is about Love in the Big City and the many shapes it can take.
“Sometimes his very existence to me is the existence of love itself.”
The book consists of four parts which could stand on their own, their focus ever shifting. All are multilayered and feel very tangible — the author lets the reader very close. This feeling is probably propelled by Anton Hurs translation: in his thoughtful afterword he describes how very familiar this novel felt to his own experiences as a young gay man in Seoul.
It was a quick read. It’s hazy, a bit sad, a tad hopeful, neither shocking nor euphemistic. It feels autobiographical, but it isn’t fully. I liked the writing style, the way the narration is (not entirely) structured.
“An excess of self-awareness was a disease in itself.”
I appreciated these pages a lot. They felt so very personal. For me, it was a 4 ⭐️ read - but please consider my rating as even more subjective than usual.
Moderate: Chronic illness and Cancer
yellowatelier's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Cancer, Outing, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Alcohol
afion's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Homophobia, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
rieviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I didn't like as much the third and fourth sections ("Love in the Big City" and "Late Rainy Season Vacation"). I think those parts just resonated less with me and I wasn't as much captured by the narrative (which sometimes jumped a little confusingly between time lines) and by its style.
The ending felt a little bit abrupt, I wasn't expecting nor I actually wanted a perfect resolution (I think it would have clashed too much with the overall tone of the novel and the narrative line), I just would've liked it to finish at a different point, in a slightly different way.
Also, I really liked the main character's sense of humour, his funny and a bit dry voice made for a very engaging narrative but I think that this wittiness was more evident in the first section and then became a bit more sparse in the following ones.
All in all, this was a really good book and I'm very glad I've got to read about the experience of queerness in South Korea.
I have to briefly mention the "Acknowledgements" section because reading the author's own words made me really emotional. I especially loved and was moved by the very last paragraphs.
When I write - or when I'm going about my day - I sometimes feel as vague and uncertain as if I'm all alone wandering through a cloud of dust, but sometimes I feel a warmth, like my hands have touched something. I want to call that something love. I know all too well how this emotion called love, how the word itself, can easily crumble into nothing, but all I can do is tightly grip this tiny bit of warmth and embrace it with all my might. Just so I can live on as myself. Just so I can live this life as myself and myself alone.
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Outing, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Minor: Death and Car accident
internationalreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical content, Outing, Terminal illness, Car accident, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Cancer