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A review by kelseydkim
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Winter in Sokcho is described "as if Marguerite Duras wrote Convenience Store Woman"... SOLD. I love Duras and love that novel. The narrator is a French Korean woman working at an old run down guest house in Sokcho, a cold, desolate coastal shell of a city bordering North Korea. She reminds me a lot of the narrator in Convenience Store Woman in that she's chosen to live a simpler life in Sokcho, rather than Seoul, where there's much more an expectation to look a certain way and have a certain career path. But she's different in that she seems to struggle a lot with this identity. She's full of conflict, much like the city of Sokcho itself. She vacillates between wanting to be hidden and wanting to be seen, wanting to consume and wanting to be consumed, identifying as French or as Korean. Ultimately, she wants to be understood rather than perceived; she wants to escape the kind of loneliness that comes from within yourself, the kind you experience even when you're with other people. When a French graphic novelist comes to stay, his presence both unsettles and unfolds her. Being with him allows her to open and explore the conflicts in her identity, as she watches him do the same with his art.
Life Duras, the prose is visceral and stunning. You can spend a lot of time unpacking each sentence, and there is equal importance in what is said and what is not said. This novel is definitely a vibe more than action-packed. The tense feeling throughout the novel, from the machine guns visible across the border, the distant and awkward interactions between the narrator and her mom, and the question of where she and the Frenchman will end up, never really eases up. (I think there are hints of what's happened with her mom, but nothing concrete is said). There's no true "resolution" here, which I think is wonderful because I cannot stop thinking and analyzing this novel, and I've already reread a lot of it. This would be a great book club read. Also what a great cover :)
Life Duras, the prose is visceral and stunning. You can spend a lot of time unpacking each sentence, and there is equal importance in what is said and what is not said. This novel is definitely a vibe more than action-packed. The tense feeling throughout the novel, from the machine guns visible across the border, the distant and awkward interactions between the narrator and her mom, and the question of where she and the Frenchman will end up, never really eases up. (I think there are hints of what's happened with her mom, but nothing concrete is said). There's no true "resolution" here, which I think is wonderful because I cannot stop thinking and analyzing this novel, and I've already reread a lot of it. This would be a great book club read. Also what a great cover :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder