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A review by shaun_trinh
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I ended up enjoying this a lot more then I thought I would. The korean mythology was great and I had fun looking up the lore behind the various mythology creatures in the story and I really liked that this story felt like it was written by someone who has actually lived and experienced Korea.
What I think really set this book a part for me is that both characters, Hani and Seokga, are written on the same playing field. They're both over a thousand years old and are powerful but not to an obscene degree. It's pretty refereshing to not read an unbalanced power dynamic. Seokga is in fact, on a higher level because he's an actual god, but it never feels that Hani is beneath him in spite of that.
What I also love, is that these two are actually kinda bad people. They are selfish, they're very open to killing, and they make choices that end up sometimes harming those around them. I especially appreciate that Hani is like this. The whole reason why she's being hunted is that she went on a mass murder spree in 1888 (also killing Jack the Ripper in the process - we have to stan) that had never been seen by a Gumiho before. To the point where Gumiho eating male souls and livers became a BANNED practice. I appreciate that they're both not morally just people and that reflects in their aggrivative and robust personalities. I also like these two practically hated each other for the first 200ish pages. It was funny and seeing the whole cat and mouse plot go down was nice. I also liked the how both of them viewed their nature. Hani constantly mentions that it's in her and Somi's (a young Gumiho) nature to kill and eat the liver and souls of men, and how it wasn't always a banned practice (because of Hani). Seokga also references his nature as the trickster god as a reason for his multitude of actions. And I like the fact that they're not totally foresaken by the plot for that, yes bad things had happened because they acted "within their nature", but it wasn't the story's message to say acting within ones nature is inherently wrong.
I will say though the pacing felt very flimsy and odd in the 2nd half. There were so many points where I was confused on what was happening because we'd have a very cozy scene during what should be a scene filled with intense agency and foreboding. People are getting murdered left and right in the city but lets relax and have a cute bed and coffee scene.
The villains were also, interesting I suppose. The Eoduksini was great when he didn't have physical form and was mroe of an unerving, onimous presence following Hani and Seokga. The twist with who he was actually did get me, but the dialouge on that man was very much cartoon villain and ruined the atmosphere he created. There's also the whole thing with Somi which felt very predictable. A great reflection onto Hani's careless actions, but a little to easily seen.
An unexpectedly great read.
What I think really set this book a part for me is that both characters, Hani and Seokga, are written on the same playing field. They're both over a thousand years old and are powerful but not to an obscene degree. It's pretty refereshing to not read an unbalanced power dynamic. Seokga is in fact, on a higher level because he's an actual god, but it never feels that Hani is beneath him in spite of that.
What I also love, is that these two are actually kinda bad people. They are selfish, they're very open to killing, and they make choices that end up sometimes harming those around them. I especially appreciate that Hani is like this. The whole reason why she's being hunted is that she went on a mass murder spree in 1888 (also killing Jack the Ripper in the process - we have to stan) that had never been seen by a Gumiho before. To the point where Gumiho eating male souls and livers became a BANNED practice. I appreciate that they're both not morally just people and that reflects in their aggrivative and robust personalities. I also like these two practically hated each other for the first 200ish pages. It was funny and seeing the whole cat and mouse plot go down was nice. I also liked the how both of them viewed their nature. Hani constantly mentions that it's in her and Somi's (a young Gumiho) nature to kill and eat the liver and souls of men, and how it wasn't always a banned practice (because of Hani). Seokga also references his nature as the trickster god as a reason for his multitude of actions. And I like the fact that they're not totally foresaken by the plot for that, yes bad things had happened because they acted "within their nature", but it wasn't the story's message to say acting within ones nature is inherently wrong.
I will say though the pacing felt very flimsy and odd in the 2nd half. There were so many points where I was confused on what was happening because we'd have a very cozy scene during what should be a scene filled with intense agency and foreboding. People are getting murdered left and right in the city but lets relax and have a cute bed and coffee scene.
The villains were also, interesting I suppose. The Eoduksini was great when he didn't have physical form and was mroe of an unerving, onimous presence following Hani and Seokga. The twist with who he was actually did get me, but the dialouge on that man was very much cartoon villain and ruined the atmosphere he created. There's also the whole thing with Somi which felt very predictable. A great reflection onto Hani's careless actions, but a little to easily seen.
An unexpectedly great read.