Take a photo of a barcode or cover
bvrnthewitch 's review for:
Our Happy Time
by Gong Jiyoung
This should've gotten five stars except I'm giving in three because something didn't click. I understand the raving reviews, I understand why its average Goodreads rating is above 4.3 - but for me, it was empty. It meant to make people think, it meant to make the reader question why we do what we do and how our lives shape us - and I guess I thought about it, but it's like I couldn't apply it to my own life.
The main character was utterly unrelatable and detestable - so hateful and naive and arrogant. Part of that was the point of the book, but she didn't grow through the plot - I mean, the author SAID she changed - oh look at how she's visiting death row inmates seven years later, oh look how wonderful she is for forgiving, oh look - but she didn't change. A quick chapter at the end telling us she's grown doesn't mean that to the reader she has evolved. The protagonist was the same at the beginning as she was at the end - plus I don't even remember her name! And this isn't due to it being translated - I remember Yunsu, I remember Eunsu, I remember Aunt Monica and Officer Yi and Yusik - I can't for the life of me tell you what the main character is called because I didn't care and she did not stand out. Maybe this seems heartless because she was raped at the age of fifteen. Rape is a horrible experience and a terrible crime - I don't like it, I don't condone it, I'm repulsed by it - but just because a fictional character has something like that happen to them doesn't make you immediately empathise and connect with them. The connection comes through character development and world building, of which this book lacked. It's worth a read, but for me it just missed the mark.
The main character was utterly unrelatable and detestable - so hateful and naive and arrogant. Part of that was the point of the book, but she didn't grow through the plot - I mean, the author SAID she changed - oh look at how she's visiting death row inmates seven years later, oh look how wonderful she is for forgiving, oh look - but she didn't change. A quick chapter at the end telling us she's grown doesn't mean that to the reader she has evolved. The protagonist was the same at the beginning as she was at the end - plus I don't even remember her name! And this isn't due to it being translated - I remember Yunsu, I remember Eunsu, I remember Aunt Monica and Officer Yi and Yusik - I can't for the life of me tell you what the main character is called because I didn't care and she did not stand out. Maybe this seems heartless because she was raped at the age of fifteen. Rape is a horrible experience and a terrible crime - I don't like it, I don't condone it, I'm repulsed by it - but just because a fictional character has something like that happen to them doesn't make you immediately empathise and connect with them. The connection comes through character development and world building, of which this book lacked. It's worth a read, but for me it just missed the mark.