A review by sproks
A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee

4.0

[CW: rape, gendered violence, war, racism]

Notes: the central "love story" is no such thing. The protagonist is a monstrous misogynist of beautifully measured words. I think many people will come away from this book feeling like they've spent time with a quiet, gentle man, but to me it was just a reminder that rapists aren't scary strangers, they are the nice men in our lives, our friends, our family, our pillars of community.