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A review by leahegood
Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
2.0
Summary
Joan is a doctor.
Joan is the accidental second child of emotionally distant immegrant parents who moved back to China as soon as she started college.
Joan's home is the hospital ... until her father dies and the hospital tells her she hasn't taken enough time to grieve.
My Thoughts
The positives. This was a unique book, and I appreciated the opportunity it lent to look at life through someone else's eyes. There was a certain, soulful quality to the narration despite it being difficult to follow at times.
The negatives. There was no real plot and the book was ... well, unique (see above). Unique down to the choice to skip quotation marks for dialogue. The narrator is so disconnected from her own emotions that it is hard, as the reader, to fully understand or immerse into book.
Content
No romantic, violent, or religious content. There is infrequent swearing, almost all of which is f-bombs.
Joan is a doctor.
Joan is the accidental second child of emotionally distant immegrant parents who moved back to China as soon as she started college.
Joan's home is the hospital ... until her father dies and the hospital tells her she hasn't taken enough time to grieve.
My Thoughts
The positives. This was a unique book, and I appreciated the opportunity it lent to look at life through someone else's eyes. There was a certain, soulful quality to the narration despite it being difficult to follow at times.
The negatives. There was no real plot and the book was ... well, unique (see above). Unique down to the choice to skip quotation marks for dialogue. The narrator is so disconnected from her own emotions that it is hard, as the reader, to fully understand or immerse into book.
Content
No romantic, violent, or religious content. There is infrequent swearing, almost all of which is f-bombs.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Xenophobia and Grief