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A review by smalefowles
A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee
4.0
Chang-rae Lee is a tremendous writer, and his style carefully outlines this book's narrator and his slowly revealed past. This was done artfully and well.
I wasn't precisely prepared for the horrors of history embedded in the text, and the portrayal did skirt close to the sensationalist, but you can't deny that war engenders horror. The ethical ambiguities made me very uncomfortable as a reader, but I think that worked well for the book. I'm not sure that it wouldn't be triggering or even offensive to some readers, though.
I'm not sure I would recommend it, but I'm glad I read it.
I wasn't precisely prepared for the horrors of history embedded in the text, and the portrayal did skirt close to the sensationalist, but you can't deny that war engenders horror. The ethical ambiguities made me very uncomfortable as a reader, but I think that worked well for the book. I'm not sure that it wouldn't be triggering or even offensive to some readers, though.
I'm not sure I would recommend it, but I'm glad I read it.