A review by bookishlibrarian
The Evening Hero by Marie Myung-Ok Lee

3.0

Dr. Yungman Kwak is a Korean immigrant who is forced into abrupt retirement from his practice as an obstetrician in a small Minnesota town after his hospital closes. Left without his life's main purpose, he takes a job in a retail medical establishment doing cosmetic procedures. His wife has also become busy with a group of fellow Korean Americans at her church, much to his dismay. Yungman also has much more time to reflect on his past, the Korean War, and his separation from his brother. While I enjoyed many parts of this story, particularly Yungman's past in Korea and his and his country's experiences during the Korean War, I also struggled with it at times. The juxtaposition of tones between the satirical aspects of the privatization of health care and the more serious aspects of Yungman's past was jarring and took me out of the story. It felt like two very different novels melded together not very seamlessly. I really liked Yungman as a character, and I can see where the author was going as his story comes full circle at the end, but the transitions needed work. Still, I'd pick up another book by this author.