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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I fell in love with her short stories and this novel was just as lovely.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Yiiiiiiiiikes. This book is about North Korean refugees, so of course it’s pretty grim. I was unaware of the dangerous, contentious situation refugees face at the China/North Korea border, nor the role that Christian evangelicals play in the resettlement (or, yikes, return) process. I’ve often thought about the border at the 38th parallel, but had given little thought to the border in the North. I learned many sad things from this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Murder
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I hadn't heard of this book before I stumbled on it at the library, looking for books for #koreanmarch. I have been reading quite a few stories set in South Korea lately, so I was hoping this would give me more of a North Korean perspective, but it turns out this book is more about being a North Korean refugee.
This book gave me a LOT of feelings. Sometimes it came across to me as book club trauma porn, but at the same time it felt so plausible, and Lee has the red to probably know what she is talking about. I had a lot of fury, reading this, mostly at "Christian" missionaries "helping" North Korean refugees in China — but the west and our infinite appetite for trauma porn is heavily implicated here, too.
A difficult book. Probably a good choice for book clubs, actually.
This book gave me a LOT of feelings. Sometimes it came across to me as book club trauma porn, but at the same time it felt so plausible, and Lee has the red to probably know what she is talking about. I had a lot of fury, reading this, mostly at "Christian" missionaries "helping" North Korean refugees in China — but the west and our infinite appetite for trauma porn is heavily implicated here, too.
A difficult book. Probably a good choice for book clubs, actually.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An interesting read that follows 3 different characters with different cultures, social background and life experiences. The writing is beautiful and that makes the story harrowing but undoubtedly true to life. I can't imagine the hardship they need to go through while being manipulated by the people they trusted the most in order to survive. Go pick this up if you want something that are short but thought-provoking.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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:
No
This was a really interesting exploration of what it means to have your identity tied to a country so reviled in the west that has done so much personal harm to so many of the characters in the book. If anything, it needed to be about twice as long in order to get into the nitty gritty of each character's struggle but it was definitely a good read