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pea_che's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
arcookson's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Racism
audreylee's review
emotional
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
2.0
The fragmented timeline and the lack of connecting information between characters made this a very frustrating read. There were many gaps in the plot and the main character was extremely strident but without any background as to what may have formed her character prior to her rebellion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Xenophobia
sebbie's review
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
goldenfenris's review
3.0
I was initially really excited to pick this up because it has been compared to both Pachinko and Go, two books that I really loved. I guess you could say that my expectations were probably too high because of this, but from the very beginning I didn’t really love the writing style of this book. It’s hard to say if the simple writing is the same in Japanese, but I never found myself getting into a proper cadence with it. Since, Takami Nieda also translated Go, I think it has more to do with the original than the translation. However, I also never felt fully emotionally invested in the characters.
Aside from Ginny, basically all the characters are one-dimensional and lacked anything to make me feel anything. Don’t get me wrong, I think that racism is wrong and that alone makes me feel something, but that is my own morals and has nothing to do with the writing skill of the author or her ability to tell a story.
I know that this is semi-autobiographical and I always feel a bit weird rating stories like this. I feel like I’m passing judgement on their life, which I’m not. I’m passing judgement on their writing. Well, usually, I can think of one autobiography where I was judging life choices, but that’s not this case for this one. For this book, I just mostly felt disconnected from everything.
As I’m not a complete stranger to the zainichi, I didn’t really need a basic primer as to what that means, but some readers may need more than this book provides. I was looking for some sort of internal struggle between her heritage and the country of her birth, which I didn’t really get. Ginny can hardly speak any Korean at the beginning of this novel, so to say that she’s struggling with any inherited alliance to Korea is not a thing.
Overall, I guess I would recommend this for readers looking for something semi-autobiographical about the zainichi. The only reason I made it past the 20% mark was sheer determination and the fact that it is so short. I’m not particularly inclined to pick up anything by Chesil in the future, but I would pick up something else translated by Takami Nieda.
Aside from Ginny, basically all the characters are one-dimensional and lacked anything to make me feel anything. Don’t get me wrong, I think that racism is wrong and that alone makes me feel something, but that is my own morals and has nothing to do with the writing skill of the author or her ability to tell a story.
I know that this is semi-autobiographical and I always feel a bit weird rating stories like this. I feel like I’m passing judgement on their life, which I’m not. I’m passing judgement on their writing. Well, usually, I can think of one autobiography where I was judging life choices, but that’s not this case for this one. For this book, I just mostly felt disconnected from everything.
As I’m not a complete stranger to the zainichi, I didn’t really need a basic primer as to what that means, but some readers may need more than this book provides. I was looking for some sort of internal struggle between her heritage and the country of her birth, which I didn’t really get. Ginny can hardly speak any Korean at the beginning of this novel, so to say that she’s struggling with any inherited alliance to Korea is not a thing.
Overall, I guess I would recommend this for readers looking for something semi-autobiographical about the zainichi. The only reason I made it past the 20% mark was sheer determination and the fact that it is so short. I’m not particularly inclined to pick up anything by Chesil in the future, but I would pick up something else translated by Takami Nieda.
cobwebshelves's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"our history isn't some textbook that no one wants to open. our history can be found in our music. the tears we shed can be found in our songs. shrouded as our ancestors were in darkness, despite knowing their lives would likely end without notice, they never forgot to sing and dance and laugh. their spirit is with us across time. as long as we, the inheritors of that spirit, give our lives to living, the music will never die. our songs will continue to grow. though a change may come, the day of our history's end will not. do not fear. the world is filled with more art than textbooks."
i've struggled a bit with how to properly review this book for a few weeks now. i'm not quite sure how to properly put the emotions i was left with into words. insightful doesn't feel like it covers "the color of the sky" well enough, but the book certainly reveals a lot about the historical experiences of zainichi koreans.
jinhee is a zainichi whose family originated from north korea, yet she doesn't feel like she fully belongs in either culture. she cannot find a place in japan where she's perceived as a foreigner nor can she fit in with her classmates in the korean school as she doesn't speak the language. however, we first meet her in the us – about the be expelled from yet another school, unable to confess what led to her leaving the country that she tried to fit into despite it rejecting her at every step.
this book is heavier than it might first appear, dealing quite explicitly with issues of discrimination, xenophobia, and, in one instance, child sexual assault. it's told in a non-linear way which some readers found made it more difficult to get into. for me personally, the format worked fine. however, by the end of it, there was a feeling that the story was somewhat incomplete and probably could've carried on a few chapters longer.
the translation is somewhat complicated to talk about. on the one hand, there were brilliant instances of prose, like the one i've quoted above. on the other hand, sometimes the language felt a bit too simplistic. i can't compare the original to the translation, so it's possible that the choice of register was intentional, though, so it's not something i can critique too much.
thanks to Soho Teen and Netgalley for the access.
i've struggled a bit with how to properly review this book for a few weeks now. i'm not quite sure how to properly put the emotions i was left with into words. insightful doesn't feel like it covers "the color of the sky" well enough, but the book certainly reveals a lot about the historical experiences of zainichi koreans.
jinhee is a zainichi whose family originated from north korea, yet she doesn't feel like she fully belongs in either culture. she cannot find a place in japan where she's perceived as a foreigner nor can she fit in with her classmates in the korean school as she doesn't speak the language. however, we first meet her in the us – about the be expelled from yet another school, unable to confess what led to her leaving the country that she tried to fit into despite it rejecting her at every step.
this book is heavier than it might first appear, dealing quite explicitly with issues of discrimination, xenophobia, and, in one instance, child sexual assault. it's told in a non-linear way which some readers found made it more difficult to get into. for me personally, the format worked fine. however, by the end of it, there was a feeling that the story was somewhat incomplete and probably could've carried on a few chapters longer.
the translation is somewhat complicated to talk about. on the one hand, there were brilliant instances of prose, like the one i've quoted above. on the other hand, sometimes the language felt a bit too simplistic. i can't compare the original to the translation, so it's possible that the choice of register was intentional, though, so it's not something i can critique too much.
thanks to Soho Teen and Netgalley for the access.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: War
emmelinelike's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bookmarkedbylauren's review
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
minipanda's review
3.0
I was extremely excited to get this in the mail. I knew right away I wanted to read this as part of the Asian Readathon Challenge 2022. Sadly, I wasn't able to connect with protagonist or the story as much as I would have liked. Both the story and characters didn't have the depth I was hoping for. Not to mention, the writing felt disjointed at times. Not sure if things got lost in translation or not, but it didn't quite meet my expectation.
***I would like to thank Goodreads for hosting the giveaway, Chesil (the author), and SoHo Teen for graciously sending me an ARC to review.***
***I would like to thank Goodreads for hosting the giveaway, Chesil (the author), and SoHo Teen for graciously sending me an ARC to review.***
remyrogue019's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75