Reviews - Sobre mi hija | The StoryGraph

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1.61k reviews for:

Sobre mi hija

Kim Hye-Jin, Kim Hye-Jin

3.73 AVERAGE

emilyanna_q's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

t4bea's review against another edition

3.0

challenging emotional reflective

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this was super challenging and upsetting to read - as a queer person myself i could not help but wonder whether my mother has felt, feels or will ever feel the same way the homophobic main character feels towards her daughter and her girlfriend. the fact the protagonist considers her daughter a failure even though her daughter is as content as can be, well-educated, with a job and in a seven-year relationship with a loving and loyal partner was absolutely astonishing to me. i know people like that exist but i simply could not wrap my head around the stubbornness of the mother.

the way she never called her daughters partner by her name either, but until the end persistently only called her ‚that girl‘ was also so dehumanizing and disturbing to read i actually teared up multiple times

on top of that i felt the whole plot concerning the mothers work, despite openly showcasing the awful situation in old-peoples homes and voicing some interesting thoughts and ideas on growing old in our society, did not go anywhere at all or had much impact on the characters or story in general

because while the mother recognizes that the old lady she cares for is an incredibly selfless character, having financially supported a young boy she met during her travels until the end of her life, volunteered etc etc, she cannot understand it or implement aspects of that selflessness in her own life (not counting the 2-3 times she /bit her tongue/ during conversations with her daughter and her partner) which just? made me incredibly angry to be honest

despite all of that (or because of it?) i will definitely be thinking about this book and the characters for a while and think it is a very important book to read.

definitely recommend if youre interested in reading about queer people and their relationships from the perspective of an outsider or rather an unsupportive family member because the concept in itself really was so very fascinating. kim hyejin did a great job (as far as i can tell) in depicting a somewhat loving and flawed mother

that is unable to get over her conservative and homophobic views and expectations of a /normal life/ for her daughter until the very end