A review by clovetra
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

challenging dark emotional informative sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

 i’m very conflicted on this book. 
i want to say in no way shape or form do i want to criticise what the author wrote. i think raising awareness to the misogynistic culture of south korea is necessary, and the way it was done truly made me feel immersed in what it is like to be a woman in south korea. 
i do think this book is necessary, especially considering the 4B movement has reached the west (as in, the knowledge of its existence in south korean culture). 
purely from a reader’s perspective is why my star rating is so “low”. 
this book kinda reminds me of a woman is no man by etaf rum, in that it’s: 
  • truthful, raw story adapted for “entertaining” purposes but could realistically be a real person’s life
  • repeats the same themes & message surround misogyny without any new takes, going on and on with the same content
  • incredibly disheartening to read as it feels like torture porn & gives you zero hope
  • becomes stagnant around the middle of the story
  • has an anticlimactic ending that slightly infuriates you (this “infuriating” comment more so applies to this book, whereas a woman is no man was solely anticlimactic)

also with a woman is no man, i feel scummy writing this review & giving negative feedback surrounding lives women very likely are actually living in the real world whilst i sit here prim and proper, not having to worry about if i will be discriminated against if i have kids (i won’t) or told to “suck it up” with workplace harassment.

i think i also went in with the wrong expectations - i expected the story to more heavily explain *why* jiyoung now channels women of her past. all i got was roughly ~30 pages of this which was probably the most disappointing aspect of the book for me. but i don’t really think i can hold this against the writer tbh - yet again my expectations for a book are out of wack 💀

like a woman is no man, i do think everyone should read this. i just don’t particularly “love” books about misogyny because u know…. i read to escape the real world…. i get enough sexism from existing thank u very much! 

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