A review by gardnerhere
The Liberators by E.J. Koh

3.0

This novel tries to do SO MUCH in 216 pages. A generation and decade spanning epic in 216 pages? Too much. The best moments of this novel--those between Insuk, Sungho, and Huran--are exquisite, and I would happily read a novel twice this length about those three and the bitter tensions and unspoken yearnings that push and pull them apart and together. But because this novel is not about a family but about a nation divided and the scars of that division, we get too little of the best bits. Every time we turn to Robert's story, I want to skim--even when it's good--because I want to get back to the three I care so much about.

But a novel with highs this high is still a thing to celebrate, and I'm already in line for the next Koh novel.