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sisa_moyo's reviews
195 reviews
Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-nan
challenging
dark
Quite enjoyed the book overall and most of the stories individually.
Notable mentions:
Loved the woman next door - where a new neighbour steals many things from the narrator
the retreat - where employees are planning to “persuade” their employer to keep the building they work in during a work retreat, and also the missing director who was suspiciously last seen by the employer
flowers of mold, - about a man who digs through peoples trash? And his fixation with a woman living in this building
toothpaste
and flag - about a man’s clothes left on a electricity pole, a car sales man with a fixation for a model on an ad, and the man trying to find the owner of the suit.
Notable mentions:
Loved the woman next door - where a new neighbour steals many things from the narrator
the retreat - where employees are planning to “persuade” their employer to keep the building they work in during a work retreat, and also the missing director who was suspiciously last seen by the employer
flowers of mold, - about a man who digs through peoples trash? And his fixation with a woman living in this building
toothpaste
and flag - about a man’s clothes left on a electricity pole, a car sales man with a fixation for a model on an ad, and the man trying to find the owner of the suit.
City of Ash and Red by Pyun Hye-young
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
About a suspiciously familiar pandemic starting in “country C”, gigantic rats, mountains of garbage and broken marriages.
oddly gripping, despite all the trash, and rat exterminations, phone calls and how this pandemic affected lives, economies, the environment and so many other things.
Oh and also murders.
oddly gripping, despite all the trash, and rat exterminations, phone calls and how this pandemic affected lives, economies, the environment and so many other things.
Oh and also murders.
Counterweight by Djuna
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
I got a significant stretch into the book and still didn’t know what was going on. It’s called counterweight yet we don’t actually talk about it or get there until the last few chapters of the book.
It’s a dystopian, AI surveilled, sci-fi and corporate espionage action book.
The world for me was not well explained, or well built.
And the characters, of which many key ones were referenced yet were not really shown, were rather flat and 2 dimensional. The leaders were barely given any page time.
It’s a dystopian, AI surveilled, sci-fi and corporate espionage action book.
The world for me was not well explained, or well built.
And the characters, of which many key ones were referenced yet were not really shown, were rather flat and 2 dimensional. The leaders were barely given any page time.
Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS by Myeongseok Kang, BTS
hopeful
informative
inspiring
The emphasis of the book is very much the ‘10 year record’ than the ‘Beyond the Story’ part of the title.
If you’re army you already know a lot of the events discussed here just from online YouTube videos and army explaining them on twitter and stuff. And as Caricanread points out, the stats of their accomplishments and album sales take you out of the flow of the book and especially in the first half, take up most of book.
The interview parts of the members where more informative and i hoped that they would be the main focus of the book which only happened in the last quarter. Issue there was that they were for events and sentiments of the members that are well documented through their lives.
I liked the book, I do wish that the members’ interview quotes were not preempted by the narration already, because the effect was that you weren’t hearing something new and what the members were saying consequently had less impact.
If you’re army you already know a lot of the events discussed here just from online YouTube videos and army explaining them on twitter and stuff. And as Caricanread points out, the stats of their accomplishments and album sales take you out of the flow of the book and especially in the first half, take up most of book.
The interview parts of the members where more informative and i hoped that they would be the main focus of the book which only happened in the last quarter. Issue there was that they were for events and sentiments of the members that are well documented through their lives.
I liked the book, I do wish that the members’ interview quotes were not preempted by the narration already, because the effect was that you weren’t hearing something new and what the members were saying consequently had less impact.
Walking Practice by Dolki Min
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Absolutely weird and darkly unhinged book, with queer themes paralleling the experiences of queer people in unsafe and ‘conservative’ spaces. It also speaks on disability; gender, what it means to be one or the other, what it means to be human.
I listened to it as an audiobook and the narration by Nicky Ernes it truly spectacular, thoroughly enjoyed this.
I listened to it as an audiobook and the narration by Nicky Ernes it truly spectacular, thoroughly enjoyed this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Violence
The Snowy Road & Other Stories: An Anthology of Korean Fiction by
adventurous
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
Loved some of the short stories in this collection. They had a unique tone of being clearly ‘non-western’ stories, reflecting an sort of Korean calmness in them, but also a more classic tone, a bit different from the more contemporary Korea on short stories.
A note that because they’re translations of older Korean stories, they read very much like classics of the mid to late 1900s period, not of the 21st century writings from Korea.
A note that because they’re translations of older Korean stories, they read very much like classics of the mid to late 1900s period, not of the 21st century writings from Korea.
I Went to See My Father by Kyung-sook Shin
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Didn’t have the time to really appreciate it
Greek Lessons by Han Kang
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
*felt very Bae Suah-esque in the way it felt almost like a dream sequence and also with it's use of repetition.
It to me explored the themes and concepts of silence and darkness and how those two themes can interact and interlock between people and their relationships.
It to me explored the themes and concepts of silence and darkness and how those two themes can interact and interlock between people and their relationships.
How I Became a North Korean by Krys Lee
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
A moving read about the struggle and suffering of North Koreans in leaving/escaping from North Korea.
It's a difficult read, dealing with have content merried with at times lyrical and exquisite writing.
It's a difficult read, dealing with have content merried with at times lyrical and exquisite writing.
My Brilliant Life by Kim Ae-ran
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
From the perspective of Areum, a boy diagnosed with a rare disorder that causes rapid aging. We delve into Areum's life at 16 years old, the age at which his parents had him, as he shares his thoughts, experiences, fears given the isolation caused by his condition.
The story centers of familial relations through Areum's bond with his parents and explores themes of friendship, acceptance and the search for meaning in the face of difficulty. A key question throughout the book asks what is it to be an adult, how does it 'feel' to be young or to age and these are explored from Areum's perspective.
Kim manages to fuse laugh out loud humour even in profound scenes with nuggets of wisdom, and explores bonds that go beyond age e.g. through Areum's relationship with his aging neighbour which I really liked and wish we maybe got more of.
l thought the book was pretty well paced and while we were in Areum's perspective, we got to know the other characters around him as well, and there were actually quite a few shocking storylines. But then again that might be because I listened to the audiobook.
The story builds up nicely to the end, and while the humour makes it so that youre not in tears initially, I let out a shocked gasp at the ending.
The story centers of familial relations through Areum's bond with his parents and explores themes of friendship, acceptance and the search for meaning in the face of difficulty. A key question throughout the book asks what is it to be an adult, how does it 'feel' to be young or to age and these are explored from Areum's perspective.
Kim manages to fuse laugh out loud humour even in profound scenes with nuggets of wisdom, and explores bonds that go beyond age e.g. through Areum's relationship with his aging neighbour which I really liked and wish we maybe got more of.
l thought the book was pretty well paced and while we were in Areum's perspective, we got to know the other characters around him as well, and there were actually quite a few shocking storylines. But then again that might be because I listened to the audiobook.
The story builds up nicely to the end, and while the humour makes it so that youre not in tears initially, I let out a shocked gasp at the ending.