A review by mvvelde
Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

There are many things that I enjoyed about Folklorn. Overall the author's telling with the usage of folklore was beautiful and the writing was lovely. I also really enjoyed part of the plot taking place in a higher academic setting--the usage of language and the the parallel of Elsa's scientific studies with her own journey were intriguing. I also enjoyed her slapstick way of communicating, as well as the stream of conscious of her thoughts from cultural stereotypes to reasoning and flashbacks. I cannot highlight these points enough--they alone made the book worth reading.

That being said, there were also a number of things I didn't enjoy about the book. But before I go further, I would like, first, to note that I am likely not the intended reader for such a book. As such, please take my criticisms of Folklorn with a grain of salt. I felt it hard to connect with the story in general--something that I really don't understand because I really did enjoy the premise and all of the elements in Folklorn. Perhaps this is due to how drawn-out the opening 30% of the book felt. But some of actions taken and things said by Elsa felt counterintuitive to how the plot developed.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.
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