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A review by maria_hossain
The Color of the Sky Is the Shape of the Heart by Chesil
4.0
THE COLOR OF THE SKY IS THE SHAPE OF THE HEART is a fantastic book. A coming-of-age literary fiction by Chesil, this book tells us, in less than 160 pages, the story of Ginny and her journey so far. Reminiscent of teen novels full of angst of the age and the struggle they go through, TCOTSITSOTH is a fantastic portrayal of a teenager who's Zainchi Korean, aka a Korean born and raised in Japan. While reading the book, I found the tone similar to The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger. Like Holden, Ginny also struggles and tries to blend in with the status quo. However, her identity is the opposite of the status quo and how long can you hide who you are?
The story begins with Ginny now in a high school in Oregon. Her foster mother, Stephanie, found her in Hawaii and brought her to Oregon. Here, Ginny also struggles to fit in. It could've been her fresh start in life. But her past and her inability to accept what's happening around her hold her back. She's almost expelled from her school but is given a second chance. She goes on a road trip by herself and slowly, she remembers her life in Japan and what happened there that made her leave.
Ginny was born as a Korean living in Japan with her extended family in North Korea. Given the brutal colonization of Korea by Japan and how the general populace and their government still don't acknowledge their ancestors' crimes (let alone apologize and atone for them), rather simply brush them under the rug, the Zainchi Koreans are treated horribly. Ginny, since childhood, attended the Japanese schools. However, in junior high, she was transferred to a Korean school. Unable to speak Korean fluently due to growing up in Japan, Ginny struggles to fit in. She's bullied by her classmates and her seniors alike. Her teachers either treat her aloofly or sternly. Her parents are no help. She doesn't know what to do. When the news of North Korea launching missiles over Japan reaches them, the prejudices begin to stir up and Ginny is caught in the crossfire. The trauma she faces in the aftermath and her response to them are quite harrowing yet understandable. The adults are supposed to protect the children. Yet, they are the ones who use and abuse the children's innocence. As her rebellion, Ginny pushes the limit that shocks the adults and her peers alike.
Here, like Holden, Ginny wants to protect the innocence of kids like her. According to her, whenever a child faces problems, they're allowed to react two ways: grow up earlier or act rebellious. Throughout the book, she mostly follows the former. Nothing changes. So, when she does the latter, chaos ensues and she is left burnt and bruised in the aftermath. Throughout the book, she alone is blamed and punished.
I love the blunt statements Ginny makes across the book. How the world thinks through the South Korean lenses whenever anything about the Korean existence comes up. Nobody thinks about the North Korean lenses. About the people subjugated there by the Kim family. When the media says Korean music, Korean drama, Korean food, Korean artists, they mean South Korean, not North Korean. Yet, when the Japanese bigots abuse the Zainchi Koreans, they don't ask first if they're from the North or the South. They just abuse and hurt.
Thank you, NetGalley and Soho Press, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
The story begins with Ginny now in a high school in Oregon. Her foster mother, Stephanie, found her in Hawaii and brought her to Oregon. Here, Ginny also struggles to fit in. It could've been her fresh start in life. But her past and her inability to accept what's happening around her hold her back. She's almost expelled from her school but is given a second chance. She goes on a road trip by herself and slowly, she remembers her life in Japan and what happened there that made her leave.
Ginny was born as a Korean living in Japan with her extended family in North Korea. Given the brutal colonization of Korea by Japan and how the general populace and their government still don't acknowledge their ancestors' crimes (let alone apologize and atone for them), rather simply brush them under the rug, the Zainchi Koreans are treated horribly. Ginny, since childhood, attended the Japanese schools. However, in junior high, she was transferred to a Korean school. Unable to speak Korean fluently due to growing up in Japan, Ginny struggles to fit in. She's bullied by her classmates and her seniors alike. Her teachers either treat her aloofly or sternly. Her parents are no help. She doesn't know what to do. When the news of North Korea launching missiles over Japan reaches them, the prejudices begin to stir up and Ginny is caught in the crossfire. The trauma she faces in the aftermath and her response to them are quite harrowing yet understandable. The adults are supposed to protect the children. Yet, they are the ones who use and abuse the children's innocence. As her rebellion, Ginny pushes the limit that shocks the adults and her peers alike.
Here, like Holden, Ginny wants to protect the innocence of kids like her. According to her, whenever a child faces problems, they're allowed to react two ways: grow up earlier or act rebellious. Throughout the book, she mostly follows the former. Nothing changes. So, when she does the latter, chaos ensues and she is left burnt and bruised in the aftermath. Throughout the book, she alone is blamed and punished.
I love the blunt statements Ginny makes across the book. How the world thinks through the South Korean lenses whenever anything about the Korean existence comes up. Nobody thinks about the North Korean lenses. About the people subjugated there by the Kim family. When the media says Korean music, Korean drama, Korean food, Korean artists, they mean South Korean, not North Korean. Yet, when the Japanese bigots abuse the Zainchi Koreans, they don't ask first if they're from the North or the South. They just abuse and hurt.
Thank you, NetGalley and Soho Press, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.