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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I can't get on with the writing style (not sure if it's the original writing, or how it's been translated)
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
Nachdem ich den Klappentext dieses Romanes gelesen hatte, dachte ich dieses Buch würde mich von Seite eins an begeistern.
Jedoch haben mich einige Dinge gestört.
Das Thema ist super interessant. Wir verfolgen eine Mutter und ihre Tochter - dabei prallen unterschiedlichste Lebensentwürfe aufeinander.
Bereits auf dem Klappentext wird angedeutet, dass die Mutter früher oder später an die Grenzen der konservativen Gesellschaft stößt.
Ich muss aber sagen, dass ich die Gedankengänge der Mutter oft nicht in Gänze nachvollziehen konnte. Warum sie jetzt doch versucht die Lebensweise ihrer Tochter nachzuvollziehen.
Auch fehlte mir die Konfrontationen zwischen den ‚Generationen‘ an gewissen Stellen.
Alles in allem ein durchschnittlicher Roman. Die Idee war super interessant, mich konnte jedoch die Umsetzung nicht ganz abholen.
Jedoch haben mich einige Dinge gestört.
Das Thema ist super interessant. Wir verfolgen eine Mutter und ihre Tochter - dabei prallen unterschiedlichste Lebensentwürfe aufeinander.
Bereits auf dem Klappentext wird angedeutet, dass die Mutter früher oder später an die Grenzen der konservativen Gesellschaft stößt.
Ich muss aber sagen, dass ich die Gedankengänge der Mutter oft nicht in Gänze nachvollziehen konnte. Warum sie jetzt doch versucht die Lebensweise ihrer Tochter nachzuvollziehen.
Auch fehlte mir die Konfrontationen zwischen den ‚Generationen‘ an gewissen Stellen.
Alles in allem ein durchschnittlicher Roman. Die Idee war super interessant, mich konnte jedoch die Umsetzung nicht ganz abholen.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Terminal illness, Violence
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My main gripe with this book was the main character’s unyielding homophobia and intolerance. I think I was just surprised by how sustaining and intense it was; I found it overwhelming. Outside of that, things often felt stale and stagnant. 😕
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
although a short book, this was really quite difficult to read. the warped homophobia from the perspective of an ageing mother is quite difficult to get through. the author tries to marry the difficulty of an unhappy mother daughter relationship with the relationship between an old woman and the carer, which works as a parallel in theory, but i thought that it just fell a bit flat. i did however enjoy green’s poignant remarks on discrimination faced by lgbt people, and it was gratifying to see the mum’s mindset change slowly, which is why i think this book deserves 3.75 stars. i can appreciate what the author is trying to do, despite how difficult the content is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Concerning My Daughter is a novel about a woman whose thirtysomething daughter moves back in with her, bringing along her girlfriend and forcing the mother to face up to what she wants for her child. Translated from Korean, the narrative follows a woman who works in a care home, where she looks after a patient with dementia whose has no family but was well-renowned when younger. When the woman's daughter Green needs to move in with her, bringing along her girlfriend Lane, the woman finds it hard to be civil, wanting her daughter to get married and have children. Her fears are complex, revolving not only around the life she had, but on the treatment of her elderly patients without children to fight for their care.
This is an intriguing book, very simple in narrative and premise (traditional, homophobic mother struggles with how to deal with daughter), but also powerful in how it shows the impact society and tradition can have on viewpoints, and the intersection of different kinds of crises (in this case, care of the elderly and homophobia). It can be painful to read at times, repeating the protagonist's obsession with her daughter not having a 'real' relationship, and the depiction of the care of the elderly can be brutal, but there's also tenderness underneath, for example the glimpses of Green and Lane's relationship even only through the eyes of someone who won't accept it.
A lot of the key elements of the book are things that cross over many cultures and countries, particularly in terms of changing kinds of families and how various groups of people (including older people and LGBTQ people) outside of a traditional norm are treated. Some people might not like the simplicity of Concerning My Daughter and other people might find it too difficult to read the mother's perspective and her inability to listen about what kind of life her daughter wants to read, but it's a powerful look at a character struggling with the position of different women in society and how love can make people misguided.
This is an intriguing book, very simple in narrative and premise (traditional, homophobic mother struggles with how to deal with daughter), but also powerful in how it shows the impact society and tradition can have on viewpoints, and the intersection of different kinds of crises (in this case, care of the elderly and homophobia). It can be painful to read at times, repeating the protagonist's obsession with her daughter not having a 'real' relationship, and the depiction of the care of the elderly can be brutal, but there's also tenderness underneath, for example the glimpses of Green and Lane's relationship even only through the eyes of someone who won't accept it.
A lot of the key elements of the book are things that cross over many cultures and countries, particularly in terms of changing kinds of families and how various groups of people (including older people and LGBTQ people) outside of a traditional norm are treated. Some people might not like the simplicity of Concerning My Daughter and other people might find it too difficult to read the mother's perspective and her inability to listen about what kind of life her daughter wants to read, but it's a powerful look at a character struggling with the position of different women in society and how love can make people misguided.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced