A review by enteka
Stingray by Louis Vinciguerra, Kim Joo-Young

4.0

At those times, when my kites were flying away from me, their faces fluttering in the wind, I felt they were laughing at me.

Strangely enough, it's a calming read, though it is not cozy. The writing was a bit too sparse for my personal liking although it fit the setting... an apt atmosphere-- weary hearts buried in years of snow, but the characters, too, were only faintly adumbrated, which of course fits them nicely into the place, but left me wondering how and when and why the feelings sprouted. 

Maybe it's not so important, because how do we really know when and where and why feelings start, but it was especially jarring in part one. Preferred all the other parts, though, maybe its because the characters grew on me. Suppose it is a bit like Winter in Sokcho in that sense, which I loved, since if given the choice I prefer detached writing over sparse writing. 

Technically I would give this 5 stars considering the themes and atmosphere and how the characters fit into it but... I have to dock a star for my enjoyment and near-dropping of it at the start.