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A review by hmmitsvenus
When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
When We Fell Apart is a gripping tale of loss and mystery, of displacement and belonging, of family dynamics and fear. We follow Min, who is living in Seoul when he is informed that his charming and headstrong girlfriend Yu-jin has just committed suicide. His initial reaction is disbelief - the Yu-jin he knew would never do such a thing. It couldn't be true. While investigating the truth about Yu-jin's death, Min begins to unravel the secrets and complexities of her life, all the things that she kept hidden from him, and he is faced with the painful question - did he ever really know her at all?
This was a fun and easy read. There's not much tension or suspense here - it's more of a delicate unraveling of the lives of the characters, particularly of Yu-jin. The synopsis makes it sound like Min is the main character, but don't be fooled; this is Yu-jin's story, first and foremost. This focus of this book was essentially an investigation of the circumstances leading to her death - which turns out to be her entire life. Yu-jin's character is the pure ideal; the tragedy of a life wasted. From the beginning to the end of this book, we see that the only moments in which Yu-jin ever truly lived were the moments where she was making decisions for herself. Even though she's dead for the majority of this book, I loved that we got to experience the slow unraveling of Yu-jin's life story throughout the pages.
The best part about this book for me was the relationships between the characters. Everything was messy and passionate, viscerally raw and full of emotion. From So-ra and Yu-jin's complicated dynamics, Misaki's mysterious role, Yu-jin's family, and even Min's heritage and backstory, the main thing that drives this book is the people in it. I loved exploring all of the different dynamics between the characters.
But this book is marketed as a "suspenseful drama" and even a "thriller" - reader, this book was anything but. There was very little tension to be seen, and though it's a well written book, the misclassification had me waiting for some big plot point that never came. The dual narrative writing style was nice, though. I personally found Yu-jin's chapters more engaging than Min's, but it's interesting that her chapters are narrated in the first person while Min's chapters are in the third person.
All in all, a solid debut. Loved the characters and the relationships.
Read for the 2024 Asian Readathon. Prompt 4: Read a debut book.
This was a fun and easy read. There's not much tension or suspense here - it's more of a delicate unraveling of the lives of the characters, particularly of Yu-jin. The synopsis makes it sound like Min is the main character, but don't be fooled; this is Yu-jin's story, first and foremost. This focus of this book was essentially an investigation of the circumstances leading to her death - which turns out to be her entire life. Yu-jin's character is the pure ideal; the tragedy of a life wasted. From the beginning to the end of this book, we see that the only moments in which Yu-jin ever truly lived were the moments where she was making decisions for herself. Even though she's dead for the majority of this book, I loved that we got to experience the slow unraveling of Yu-jin's life story throughout the pages.
The best part about this book for me was the relationships between the characters. Everything was messy and passionate, viscerally raw and full of emotion. From So-ra and Yu-jin's complicated dynamics, Misaki's mysterious role, Yu-jin's family, and even Min's heritage and backstory, the main thing that drives this book is the people in it. I loved exploring all of the different dynamics between the characters.
But this book is marketed as a "suspenseful drama" and even a "thriller" - reader, this book was anything but. There was very little tension to be seen, and though it's a well written book, the misclassification had me waiting for some big plot point that never came. The dual narrative writing style was nice, though. I personally found Yu-jin's chapters more engaging than Min's, but it's interesting that her chapters are narrated in the first person while Min's chapters are in the third person.
All in all, a solid debut. Loved the characters and the relationships.
Read for the 2024 Asian Readathon. Prompt 4: Read a debut book.