A review by gillthequill
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

2.5

2.5 Stars. This is not a book for everyone. That is perfectly fine. I wasn't sure what I was expecting from this book, but it wasn't transcripts of therapy sessions. Because of the book's nature, I knew I wasn't going to get a traditional narrative structure, and that's fine. I knew there wasn't going to be a neat, tied in a bow ending. But I was left with this constant feeling of "thank god I'm not living in her brain." Honestly, I was ready to rate the book lower... until I came across the final third. And the author clearly acknowledging lessons they've learned, the psychiatrist admitting the mistakes they made, and the small vignettes of the author's life were compelling. In fact, it made me realize how damn brave the author was for sharing these deep, thought provoking, sometimes very unflattering truths. That alone makes it worth attention, even if it didn't resonate with me. Someone will identify with this book and take great lessons from it, and that is fine. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings