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nini23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
3.75
I really thought I would rate this higher like 4.5 through the first third of the novel when the boys were in the choir. Although it's in the blurb, what are the chances he would run into the choir director's son, who confusingly resembles Peter?
But let's talk about the writing, because it's beguiling. Some have described it as a lullaby. To me, it captures well that surreal cotton wool quality where something terrible has happened, fracturing into a 'before' and 'after' yet normal life still continues despite one feeling like dying inside. Accordingly, there is a dissociative quality to the writing, as well as used as a coping mechanism.
Sexual abuse of minors is an abhorrent crime and we see the effects of the damage effervesce in each of the boys as they grow up.
I see why there have been comparisons to A Little Life and it boils down to plausibility. Have choir boys been sexually abused? For sure. In fact, while Chee was going into detail about the Kyries (medieval profession of praise and love to God) the choir was singing, underlay there was the bitter ironical knowledge of the numerous cases of boys sexually abused by Catholic priests.
The section where Fee is in college doing drugs is when I started disengaging. The writing is still splinteringly beautiful but it's normal sophomore experiences.I am in disbelief that adult Fee as a swimming coach and teacher does have sex with a student who turns out to be Big Eric's (his abuser's) son Warden who he last saw toddling learning to walk. He himself was abused by an authority figure and yet .... Also, it gets into major makjang territory when the son falls in love with Fee, fainting spells, stalking etc and kills his father by burning him and photos of the adolescent Fee as revenge on his behalf. Fee at that point had a seemingly stable respectable life and he just self-conflagrated. Warden I have no clue what's happening with him. If this is all to show the damage is permanent in these abused individuals, then it's really twisted and hopeless. Human psychology is complex and atrocious things happen everyday, like my review for A Little Life stated, many shitty occurences can believably happen to a single person. It's not so much about resilience as cause and effect. Big Eric planted the seed of a time bomb in these boys and they detonated in their own way in time. There was a painful innocence in them that was destroyed forever.
If we continue with this analogy, this reader was left rather shell-shocked after finishing. I was in the same activities in secondary school and college (choir, swim team), Chee writes with inside knowledge. I liked the red hairs of Korean folklore and admire this particular strain of technical writing. My first Alexander Chee book and I am open to reading more.
But let's talk about the writing, because it's beguiling. Some have described it as a lullaby. To me, it captures well that surreal cotton wool quality where something terrible has happened, fracturing into a 'before' and 'after' yet normal life still continues despite one feeling like dying inside. Accordingly, there is a dissociative quality to the writing, as well as used as a coping mechanism.
Sexual abuse of minors is an abhorrent crime and we see the effects of the damage effervesce in each of the boys as they grow up.
I see why there have been comparisons to A Little Life and it boils down to plausibility. Have choir boys been sexually abused? For sure. In fact, while Chee was going into detail about the Kyries (medieval profession of praise and love to God) the choir was singing, underlay there was the bitter ironical knowledge of the numerous cases of boys sexually abused by Catholic priests.
The section where Fee is in college doing drugs is when I started disengaging. The writing is still splinteringly beautiful but it's normal sophomore experiences.
If we continue with this analogy, this reader was left rather shell-shocked after finishing. I was in the same activities in secondary school and college (choir, swim team), Chee writes with inside knowledge. I liked the red hairs of Korean folklore and admire this particular strain of technical writing. My first Alexander Chee book and I am open to reading more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Alcohol, Grief, and Mental illness
tabitha_isabelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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