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A review by loriluo
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
4.0
Yolk is not an easy read.
The novel is told from the perspective of Jayne Baek, a Korean-American student in NYC. She's long been in the shadow of her accomplished older sister, who lives in the same city as her and has an esteemed job at a hedge fund, and is struggling to live her day-to-day life with a number of familiar difficulties: affording rent, living with a sort-of-boyfriend who doesn't pay rent, and being away from her family in Texas. Jayne's story is slowly pieced together as time goes on, and we see the complex and difficult love-hate relationship she has both with her sister and with herself.
I really appreciated how Mary Choi handled the topic of eating disorders here; throughout most of the novel, it's very rarely touched upon and only occasional hints of something wrong are subtlety thrown in throughout Jayne's thoughts. It's only at the end that we, the reader, realize for just how long Jayne has struggled, and the ways that her experiences and relationships have contributed to it.
The writing felt a bit terse at times, and I would have loved more insight into Jayne's feelings and past experiences, but this was nonetheless a novel I blazed through.
The novel is told from the perspective of Jayne Baek, a Korean-American student in NYC. She's long been in the shadow of her accomplished older sister, who lives in the same city as her and has an esteemed job at a hedge fund, and is struggling to live her day-to-day life with a number of familiar difficulties: affording rent, living with a sort-of-boyfriend who doesn't pay rent, and being away from her family in Texas. Jayne's story is slowly pieced together as time goes on, and we see the complex and difficult love-hate relationship she has both with her sister and with herself.
I really appreciated how Mary Choi handled the topic of eating disorders here; throughout most of the novel, it's very rarely touched upon and only occasional hints of something wrong are subtlety thrown in throughout Jayne's thoughts. It's only at the end that we, the reader, realize for just how long Jayne has struggled, and the ways that her experiences and relationships have contributed to it.
The writing felt a bit terse at times, and I would have loved more insight into Jayne's feelings and past experiences, but this was nonetheless a novel I blazed through.