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A review by mimosaeyes
To the Warm Horizon by Jin-Young Choi
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A deadly and fast-acting virus pandemic devastates the world, and the main characters flee from Korea to Russia (for some reason...) and attempt to survive while retaining their humanity. This is pretty standard fare for post-apocalyptic fiction. But I wanted to check out this book because I'd never read a Korean book in this genre before, nor a Korean book with lesbians in the blurb.
This is a bleak story for the most part, showing how people can devolve to ugliness and ruthlessness under extreme circumstances. Specifically, this happens along gendered lines, with most of the men in the story ending up in positions of power over women and children, and enacting violence on their bodies. They get killed or raped - content warning for that. In such bleakness, Jina and Dori's love for each other is positioned as a beacon of hope. Maybe not quite a beacon. A small, wavering flashlight at best. But still there.
I like how the backstories and relationships of the ensemble cast are fleshed out. I find Ryu and Dori especially compelling. On the other hand, the plot structure feels a bit anticlimactic. Awful things happen and the female leads have barely any agency, and then it just ends. On the plus side, though, the prose is really lovely at times. It's not flowery language, but it excels in getting across big ideas in simple images.
This is a bleak story for the most part, showing how people can devolve to ugliness and ruthlessness under extreme circumstances. Specifically, this happens along gendered lines, with most of the men in the story ending up in positions of power over women and children, and enacting violence on their bodies. They get killed or raped - content warning for that. In such bleakness, Jina and Dori's love for each other is positioned as a beacon of hope. Maybe not quite a beacon. A small, wavering flashlight at best. But still there.
I like how the backstories and relationships of the ensemble cast are fleshed out. I find Ryu and Dori especially compelling. On the other hand, the plot structure feels a bit anticlimactic. Awful things happen and the female leads have barely any agency, and then it just ends. On the plus side, though, the prose is really lovely at times. It's not flowery language, but it excels in getting across big ideas in simple images.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape