A review by imiji
Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lee's prose is genuinely beautiful in parts, if overtly literary, and there's a part of me that understands why this is seen as such a foundational text in the asian american canon. but possibly because this is an older text, some things grated -- the persistent maleness of the narration, the dismissal of women, the essentialism around the supposed inherent pathos of korean culture and identity, the conflation of all immigrant experiences.