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A review by vwang3
A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee
2.0
I don't know why this book was so difficult for me. I read it after first reading Aloft, and I don't know if it was Lee having evolved as a writer in the later book or simply assuming a different narratorial persona, but I found the writing and narration in A Gesture Life so stilted and formal, so unnatural. None of the dialogue felt realistic; none of the inner narration did either. (*NB: reviews suggest that this is entirely intentional, that Hata's attempts to clinically analyze and explain his life are indicative of his character; I think that's probably true but I still found the style -- and the man -- off-putting.)
Also, Doc Hata was just a rather unlikable character. I think that was the point -- someone called him an unreliable narrator in the classic sense, and I agree with that -- but his utter emotional unavailability was never satisfyingly penetrated, never in a way that suggested his repressed depths that I think I was supposed to sympathize with. The part of the novel that most resonated with me (retrospectively) was arguably his most formative and despicable -- the ways in which he interacted with K. I suppose the rest of it may have been so far removed and so subtle that I just couldn't (or was too thick to) appreciate it.
Also, Doc Hata was just a rather unlikable character. I think that was the point -- someone called him an unreliable narrator in the classic sense, and I agree with that -- but his utter emotional unavailability was never satisfyingly penetrated, never in a way that suggested his repressed depths that I think I was supposed to sympathize with. The part of the novel that most resonated with me (retrospectively) was arguably his most formative and despicable -- the ways in which he interacted with K. I suppose the rest of it may have been so far removed and so subtle that I just couldn't (or was too thick to) appreciate it.