Scan barcode
A review by knod78
The Silence of Bones by June Hur 허주은
4.0
This completes Task 14: Read a realistic YA book not set in the U.S., UK, or Canada of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge. I have to say that my friend got me into this challenge and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm reading novels by authors and genres that I never would have heard of before or would have picked up on my own. This book was one of those books where I have so much gratitude for the challenge, because it introduced me to the author and 1800s Korea/Korean Police Force.
I loved this book. I was quite honestly fascinated from the first time I saw the cover and the first page. I learned so much. I loved the storyline (reading a lot about anti-Catholicism lately). I loved the setting. I loved that two influential women (one is actually a character in this book and the other is only talked about) were real women in Korean history. I loved that they kept saying Southerner when I realized it was South Korea. The characters were great and well written. Kyon was a typical entitled man; Lady Kang was wonderful; Inspector Han - Love; Seol was the clever girl who couldn't just be an indentured servant anymore. It's kind of crazy to read about the police force using indentured servants (women really) to deal with the female victims, because the men couldn't touch, look, or in some cases, ask them questions.
"I have a mouth, but I mustn't speak; Ears, but I mustn't hear; Eyes, but I mustn't see," was a theme throughout and it was just such an erie, yet really cool line.
I will say that even though the killer's identity kept me guessing, I did figure it out and I did figure out Inspector Han's secret. Seol was a great a character, but she did quickly change on things with mood and opinions even though her greatest strength is supposed to be loyalty. She didn't always show it. I also didn't take well to the ending. I loved what happened, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't clear if she stayed put or went back to the capital. There was also eluding to a possible love interest, but nothing was said. It just kind of ended.
Silence of Bones made me want to read more about Korea and their history. And that's really the point of a book. I would definitely recommend this book and read another book by this author. Hmmmm... could this be a series???
But I definitely need a break from YA novels. I read too many this year and I think that was my last one for this challenge.
I loved this book. I was quite honestly fascinated from the first time I saw the cover and the first page. I learned so much. I loved the storyline (reading a lot about anti-Catholicism lately). I loved the setting. I loved that two influential women (one is actually a character in this book and the other is only talked about) were real women in Korean history. I loved that they kept saying Southerner when I realized it was South Korea. The characters were great and well written. Kyon was a typical entitled man; Lady Kang was wonderful; Inspector Han - Love; Seol was the clever girl who couldn't just be an indentured servant anymore. It's kind of crazy to read about the police force using indentured servants (women really) to deal with the female victims, because the men couldn't touch, look, or in some cases, ask them questions.
"I have a mouth, but I mustn't speak; Ears, but I mustn't hear; Eyes, but I mustn't see," was a theme throughout and it was just such an erie, yet really cool line.
I will say that even though the killer's identity kept me guessing, I did figure it out and I did figure out Inspector Han's secret. Seol was a great a character, but she did quickly change on things with mood and opinions even though her greatest strength is supposed to be loyalty. She didn't always show it. I also didn't take well to the ending. I loved what happened, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't clear if she stayed put or went back to the capital. There was also eluding to a possible love interest, but nothing was said. It just kind of ended.
Silence of Bones made me want to read more about Korea and their history. And that's really the point of a book. I would definitely recommend this book and read another book by this author. Hmmmm... could this be a series???
But I definitely need a break from YA novels. I read too many this year and I think that was my last one for this challenge.