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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A poignant collection of seven short stories, Shoko's Smile is an emotionally raw potrayal of war trauma, grief, racial discrimination, and loneliness across multicultural and multigenerational backgrounds. Choi Eunyoung illustrates how lives are affected and relationships grew distant beyond salvage by actual South Korean and global historic events, namely Sewol ferry sinking, Vietnam War and Inhyukdang incident. The lack of closure in each of the stories captures the complexity and fragility of friendships and family relationships that is both unbearably devastating and real.
"Silence formed me to see my naked desires. The desire to be loved, the desire to connect with someone deeply and inseparably, the desire to forget, the desire to not forget, the desire to be understood completely without being dissected, the desire to avoid getting hurt, the desire to love even if I did get hurt."
Empathy, longing for connection and the struggle of vulnerability written through Eunyoung's words feels personally intimate in a way that it saw through me and had me broke down in tears. It moves me to reach out to friends, reminds me that I am not alone in my struggles and persuades me to slowly let go of the fear of vulnerability.
"People locked their hearts at some point in their lives, as if everyone agreed to do so. Then they made acquintances outside those locks, with people never hurt them or be hurt by them."
Silent but loud, the author gracefully enkindle empathy for the pain of others and ourselves. I can't even articulate how much Shoko's Smile means to me and I definitely see myself reading this book over and over again in the future. I'll end this with an excerpt from the author's note, I hope it soothes you the way it soothes me.
“I was too harsh on myself during my teens and twenties. I would like to apologize to the old me for hating and unfairly treating myself just because I was who I was. I'd like to cook a delicious meal for that girl, message her shoulders, and tell her everything will be alright. I'd like to take her to a warm bright place and listen to her story. And thank her for gathering her courage, even though she is such a coward and accompanying me to this point."
"Silence formed me to see my naked desires. The desire to be loved, the desire to connect with someone deeply and inseparably, the desire to forget, the desire to not forget, the desire to be understood completely without being dissected, the desire to avoid getting hurt, the desire to love even if I did get hurt."
Empathy, longing for connection and the struggle of vulnerability written through Eunyoung's words feels personally intimate in a way that it saw through me and had me broke down in tears. It moves me to reach out to friends, reminds me that I am not alone in my struggles and persuades me to slowly let go of the fear of vulnerability.
"People locked their hearts at some point in their lives, as if everyone agreed to do so. Then they made acquintances outside those locks, with people never hurt them or be hurt by them."
Silent but loud, the author gracefully enkindle empathy for the pain of others and ourselves. I can't even articulate how much Shoko's Smile means to me and I definitely see myself reading this book over and over again in the future. I'll end this with an excerpt from the author's note, I hope it soothes you the way it soothes me.
“I was too harsh on myself during my teens and twenties. I would like to apologize to the old me for hating and unfairly treating myself just because I was who I was. I'd like to cook a delicious meal for that girl, message her shoulders, and tell her everything will be alright. I'd like to take her to a warm bright place and listen to her story. And thank her for gathering her courage, even though she is such a coward and accompanying me to this point."
dark
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Koreans as always being able to rope me in and gut punch me with sadness. This was such an impactful set of short stories and am excited to read more from Eunyoung!
cant lie i got bored in the last 20% of the book. some short stories are just meh and downright sad but... just for the sake of being sad. didn't learn anything from it. so bleak.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated