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A review by asterope
Princess Bari by Hwang Sok-yong
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.5
The book is a modern retelling of the Korean folk story of Princess Bari. It follows the main character from her childhood in North Korea, to her escape and long journey that ends with her settling in London.
I loved the first section that shows us Bari's experiences growing up and escaping North Korea. The family bonds were so tangible and you really felt the despair when it all eventually falls apart during the famine. The magical realism of Bari’s shaman powers was tied in nicely here. This was definitely the best part of the book.
After she makes the harrowing journey to London, the pace becomes so fast and emotionless. It's very much “this happened, then this happened, and this happened.” So the book loses a lot of depth here, especially when it comes to Bari herself. I felt like the focus shifted away from her. I can see the message the author was trying to convey, but the way the themes were crafted using the side characters from all the various cultures and backgrounds in London was written very awkwardly. We're presented with an idealised view of things. The dialogue seems like what the author hopes people would say, rather than how they actually talk in reality.
I would say most of my complaints about this book are on the language and writing. The mix of British and American English was jarring. There were also some sweeping statements made about living here that were untrue. Again, I don't know if this was down to the translator or original text, but either way, it needed better editing.
Now the details of the traditional Korean story of Princess Bari probably went over my head, but the way the shamanism stuff was used was super clumsy. The climax almost felt like I was reading a scene from a fantasy video game. Again, the best part was the first section covering Bari’s childhood, because the magic wasn't too overt and handwavy.
Finally, the book shoehorns in the 7/7 bombings and then suddenly ends as Bari and her husband are running away from it. So bizarre. I found it very heavy-handed when the author tried to use 9/11 to expand on the book’s themes earlier on, but adding 7/7 right at the end was an even worse choice. Maybe I wouldn't be so annoyed about this if the anniversary of the attacks hadn't just passed and it wasn't fresh in my mind, but it really didn't come across however the author intended it to.
I'm just baffled because I've enjoyed previous works by both the author and translator. I was looking forward to reading this and feel quite disappointed!
I loved the first section that shows us Bari's experiences growing up and escaping North Korea. The family bonds were so tangible and you really felt the despair when it all eventually falls apart during the famine. The magical realism of Bari’s shaman powers was tied in nicely here. This was definitely the best part of the book.
After she makes the harrowing journey to London, the pace becomes so fast and emotionless. It's very much “this happened, then this happened, and this happened.” So the book loses a lot of depth here, especially when it comes to Bari herself. I felt like the focus shifted away from her. I can see the message the author was trying to convey, but the way the themes were crafted using the side characters from all the various cultures and backgrounds in London was written very awkwardly. We're presented with an idealised view of things. The dialogue seems like what the author hopes people would say, rather than how they actually talk in reality.
I would say most of my complaints about this book are on the language and writing. The mix of British and American English was jarring. There were also some sweeping statements made about living here that were untrue. Again, I don't know if this was down to the translator or original text, but either way, it needed better editing.
Now the details of the traditional Korean story of Princess Bari probably went over my head, but the way the shamanism stuff was used was super clumsy. The climax almost felt like I was reading a scene from a fantasy video game. Again, the best part was the first section covering Bari’s childhood, because the magic wasn't too overt and handwavy.
Finally, the book shoehorns in the 7/7 bombings and then suddenly ends as Bari and her husband are running away from it. So bizarre. I found it very heavy-handed when the author tried to use 9/11 to expand on the book’s themes earlier on, but adding 7/7 right at the end was an even worse choice. Maybe I wouldn't be so annoyed about this if the anniversary of the attacks hadn't just passed and it wasn't fresh in my mind, but it really didn't come across however the author intended it to.
I'm just baffled because I've enjoyed previous works by both the author and translator. I was looking forward to reading this and feel quite disappointed!