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annaelisaa's reviews
474 reviews
Ein Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
- 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
3.0
I’m honestly having trouble rating this, since I suspect my issues lay mostly with the translator and not the author. Throughout the novel, I felt as if the central narrative was somewhat condensed to fit western ideals, part of which I think happened on a textual level (the translation as such) and less so on content level. The translations chosen for Korean words, objects, and such made me cringe more often than not and are pretty inconsistent, in my opinion. But, alas, I have not read the original or any other novels by this author (plus, this is a debut), so it’s hard for me to really judge.
On a plot level, what we have here is an exploration of the concept of han, which is, in today's context, often used in connection with diaspora. It's an interesting approach to examine this concept through the eyes of a French Korean woman living IN South Korea. And while this aspect of the novel was moving and well structured, I oftentimes found myself wondering what the point of the plot lines were. At first, I thought South-Korean and North-Korean identities (and the interplay between them) would be connected or challenged in connection to Gyopo identities or BiPOC identities living in South Korea. But this was quickly dropped. Discourse on social issues is hinted at, but then kind of fizzles out. It's obvious the author had many ideas, but they were sketched out and then abandoned again one page later. The atmosphere was perfect, and the prose hit just the right tone of voice; this is the sort of "woman vs the void" novel you are gonna enjoy if you like Han Kang or Moshfegh, for example. I'm excited to see the development in the other novel that has since been translated!
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I feel like we've all seen this book around booksta & booktok a ton! Especially if you're a romantasy reader, you've probably seen it on lots of different profiles. didn't even know this was a debut until halfway through, and I have manyyyy thoughts!
This held so much potential with its fast pace, slowburn, and knife-to-throat action. I think the writing style and character crafting could develop beautifully in the future. Could this stand on its own without the romance plotline? Absolutely not. The world is not nearly as detailed as it should be and lacks quite some depth. The trials felt way too similar to the Hunger Games, from the way they were instrumentalized and incorporated into the plot.
I could tell exactly where the plot was progressing from about 30% in & major plot points were quite predictable. With that being said, I also couldn't put it down! The pacing was just right, and the second half of the book drew me in even more. AND THE DYNAMICS!!!
This is definitely a good palate cleanser, & I'd rec reading it for the slowburn and not for plot twists and worldbuilding.