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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Story about women holding together. Insight into the life of Korean immigrants in Japan during the war.
slow-paced
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sweeping family saga tells of Koreans living in Japan at the time of the second world War and beyond. Never accepted in Japan, and nothing to go back to, the characters struggle to reconcile their identities. The tale gets sprawling as the book goes on, as, I guess, families do.
3.5
I felt very disappointed at the end of this. The book's first half was almost a five-star read, but it took such a turn ESPECIALLY toward the end that I found myself wanting it to be over.
I really did love the core story of this novel that focused on Sunja and Isak. This part of the book is very well written and makes you care about the characters deeply. I did end up getting teary-eyed multiple times throughout my reading experience. I was so on board this whole time until maybe the last 150 pages. This is the only time I'll say this about an almost 500-page book, but it needed to be longer!! What becomes apparent, especially towards the latter half of the book, is how little time each story is given. It feels as though when the story moved along less and less time was spent on elaborating on thoughts, feelings, and events. Major things happened in these characters life and it feels like we are dragged along to the next event so that the story can wrap up. What really caught me off guard was when main characters died (Noa and Yoseb!!) and there was no room to actually feel the impact of these events.
The most disappointing part of the book must be the last 100 pages which made no sense to me, or rather when the narrative shifts to Solomon. Hana's story was so strange and felt disconnected from the rest of the characters, especially the sexual interactions she had with Solomon and her illness. I understand that the author was trying to tie it all together towards the end but it felt forced and pushy. It would've been easy to understand the message behind this story without having it spelled out, so it felt a bit lazy to end it the way she did.
I do think Lee has taken on a difficult task by writing something that spans such a long period of time, and in some ways, she succeeds but ultimately it felt rushed and disconnected. Even though I didn't love this in the end I'll still carry many of these characters with me!
I felt very disappointed at the end of this. The book's first half was almost a five-star read, but it took such a turn ESPECIALLY toward the end that I found myself wanting it to be over.
I really did love the core story of this novel that focused on Sunja and Isak. This part of the book is very well written and makes you care about the characters deeply. I did end up getting teary-eyed multiple times throughout my reading experience. I was so on board this whole time until maybe the last 150 pages. This is the only time I'll say this about an almost 500-page book, but it needed to be longer!! What becomes apparent, especially towards the latter half of the book, is how little time each story is given. It feels as though when the story moved along less and less time was spent on elaborating on thoughts, feelings, and events. Major things happened in these characters life and it feels like we are dragged along to the next event so that the story can wrap up. What really caught me off guard was when main characters died (Noa and Yoseb!!) and there was no room to actually feel the impact of these events.
The most disappointing part of the book must be the last 100 pages which made no sense to me, or rather when the narrative shifts to Solomon. Hana's story was so strange and felt disconnected from the rest of the characters, especially the sexual interactions she had with Solomon and her illness. I understand that the author was trying to tie it all together towards the end but it felt forced and pushy. It would've been easy to understand the message behind this story without having it spelled out, so it felt a bit lazy to end it the way she did.
I do think Lee has taken on a difficult task by writing something that spans such a long period of time, and in some ways, she succeeds but ultimately it felt rushed and disconnected. Even though I didn't love this in the end I'll still carry many of these characters with me!
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
slow-paced