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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
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
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I loved this book. I highly recommend it. Be prepared to cry
I learned *a lot* about Japanese/Korean history that I had no idea about before, which was great, but I felt like the constant many year jumps between chapters and the abrupt-but-barely-mentioned twists were sort of jarring.
emotional
reflective
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
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
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:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No