firyel 's review for:

The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong

2.0

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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2.5 it was fine, just not for me. The writing (or at least the translation) was okay. I felt immersed and didn’t mind the switches between present and past but I finished the book feeling bitter. I don’t have criticisms on the realism of the events nor on certain choices made within the story (at least not technically). 

I just hated being in Yu-jin’s head.

I had a brief time when I felt pity for him but it didn’t last long and in the end, I could’ve accepted dealing with him if only he got what he deserved but that didn’t happen.

Pairing that frustration with the fact that you can tell what happened even before he starts remembering events (and what’s going to happen moving forwards, including the Hae-jin situation at the end) made it all an unpleasant experience for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Stalking, Murder