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A review by gzaborski
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book discussed the ways sexism and misogyny have shaped life for Korean women across generations, through a study of housewife Kim Jiyoung and her family history. While I think the book is tackling subjects that aren’t often discussed in Korea, I personally found this book to cover elements of sexism that are baked into life everywhere and are definitely talked about more here in America.
The book took on a more dispassionate tone, not necessarily arguing anything or diving deep into characters’s feelings and instead covering a series of events, leaving the audience to see sexism plainly in action. While this might have been something that was lost in translation, I found that I wasn’t getting a lot of emotion from the book.This is kind of explained in the final chapter as this is framed as a report by the male therapist, but I found that to not really change my disappointment that there wasn’t more here.
Felt like a lot more could have been done within this story to explore character motivation more deeply, but a good introduction to sexist micro aggressions and how they can change women’s lives as they stack up over time.
The book took on a more dispassionate tone, not necessarily arguing anything or diving deep into characters’s feelings and instead covering a series of events, leaving the audience to see sexism plainly in action. While this might have been something that was lost in translation, I found that I wasn’t getting a lot of emotion from the book.
Felt like a lot more could have been done within this story to explore character motivation more deeply, but a good introduction to sexist micro aggressions and how they can change women’s lives as they stack up over time.