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A review by thereshegoesagain
Daughters of the Dragon: A Comfort Woman's Story by William Andrews
1.0
A+ for intent - as someone who lived in Korea for 3+ years and considers it my second home, I'm more than familiar with the term "comfort women" and the horrible, horrible things they've faced. I'm also very aware of the way Japan has tried to erase this from their history, and I'm even more aware of the complicated relations between Korea and Japan.
F for the modern day descriptions -- No offense, but when the heck was the last time this author stepped foot or spent proper time in Seoul or Korea?! I a) try not to know too much about a new author when I read a book so I'm not biased and b) try to be aware that I'm probably harsher on anything related to Korea because I've spent so much time traveling and living there. As soon as I heard "Wanted to go to Itaewon for traditional souvenirs," I almost spit out my drink. Maybe the author and editors aren't ware but Itaewon is the FOREIGNER district, meaning you go there for tacos and South Africa braai. Maybe the neighborhood you were looking for was INSADONG, which is near Gyeongbokgung Palace and well-known for its traditional souvenir shops. Also I've taken a crap ton of taxis all around Korea from the city to the countryside, and I've never met a taxi ahjussi who acted like the one in the book.
F- for the audiobook reader. You could find someone who knew how to read Korean in the mass of audiobook readers?! Every single time she said a Korean word she absolutely BUTCHERED them. FYI Gyeongbokgung is Gyoung - bok - goong not Jyoung -bok-gung. It's han-gul, not han-GUL. I could go on. It bothered me so, so much.
C - for everything else, so I guess it balances out to 3 stars. The story could have been something really solid, but it loses a lot in the actual storytelling and plot. The author just skips over whole decades and it felt like the Sparksnote version of a novel. He always relies quite heavily on cliches and the characters, even the main one, feel pretty 2D.
F for the modern day descriptions -- No offense, but when the heck was the last time this author stepped foot or spent proper time in Seoul or Korea?! I a) try not to know too much about a new author when I read a book so I'm not biased and b) try to be aware that I'm probably harsher on anything related to Korea because I've spent so much time traveling and living there. As soon as I heard "Wanted to go to Itaewon for traditional souvenirs," I almost spit out my drink. Maybe the author and editors aren't ware but Itaewon is the FOREIGNER district, meaning you go there for tacos and South Africa braai. Maybe the neighborhood you were looking for was INSADONG, which is near Gyeongbokgung Palace and well-known for its traditional souvenir shops. Also I've taken a crap ton of taxis all around Korea from the city to the countryside, and I've never met a taxi ahjussi who acted like the one in the book.
F- for the audiobook reader. You could find someone who knew how to read Korean in the mass of audiobook readers?! Every single time she said a Korean word she absolutely BUTCHERED them. FYI Gyeongbokgung is Gyoung - bok - goong not Jyoung -bok-gung. It's han-gul, not han-GUL. I could go on. It bothered me so, so much.
C - for everything else, so I guess it balances out to 3 stars. The story could have been something really solid, but it loses a lot in the actual storytelling and plot. The author just skips over whole decades and it felt like the Sparksnote version of a novel. He always relies quite heavily on cliches and the characters, even the main one, feel pretty 2D.