lindakwe 's review for:

The Only Child by Mi-ae Seo

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I don't really know how I feel about this book. A lot was probably lost in translation. I kind of liked the passiveness and lack of emotion in the storytelling, it kept the atmosphere bleak. I also enjoyed the last twist, and the ending was good although a bit predictable. Other than that, it felt to me that there wasn't that much substance to the story. It was giving me events, but the connections between the characters (apart from Seonkyeong and Hayeong, whose interactions were really interesting and the best parts of the book in my opinion) were somehow... lacking, and shallow. I also kept expecting the story to build to something more but it ended up just being another thriller-ish climax, twist, and a thought-provoking ending. I was hoping the book would've somehow managed to say more than what it did. I am very interested in delving more into South Korean books like this, though.