![luce [is reading]](https://wishfullyreading.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/9429655-1.jpeg){kind=small}
-
Greek Lessons by Han Kang
“The lit fuse of the chilly explosive primed in her heart is no more. The interior of her mouth is as empty as the veins through which the blood no longer flows, it is as empty as a lift shaft where the lift has ceased to operate.” In a clinically detached prose Han Kang examines…
3.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, belonging, books about writers, cold tone, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, divorce/separations, female authors, Germany, Greek Lessons, GRIEF, Han Kang, introspective, Korea, korean author, language, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MEMORY, mental health, otherness, psychological, published in 2011, read in 2023, teachers, the body, the female malaise, unnamed characters -
Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-Jin
“The expectations and ambitions, possibilities and hopes concerning my daughter – they still remain and torment me no matter how hard I work to get rid of them. To be rid of them, how skeletal and empty do I have to be? Despite its short length Concerning my Daughter is by no means a breeze…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, ageing, Concerning My Daughter, Contemporary, f/f, family, female authors, graphic content, GUILT, identity, intergenerational, Kim Hye-Jin, Korea, korean author, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, motherhood, mothers & daughters, PUBLISHED IN 2017, queer, read in 2022, sapphic, SEXUALITY, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, TRANSLATED FICTION, unnamed narrator -
I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee
“I wonder about others like me, who seem totally fine on the outside but are rotting on the inside, where the rot is this vague state of being not-fine and not-devastated at the same time.” There was something about the title and cover of this book that brought to mind Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, anxiety, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Baek Se-hee, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, DEPRESSION, dialogue heavy, female authors, I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, Korea, korean author, loneliness, MEMOIR, mental health, My reviews, Nonfiction, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, psychological, published in 2018, read in 2022, reading, self-help, the female malaise, TRANSLATED FICTION -
The Old Woman with the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo
The Old Woman with the Knife follows Hornclaw a 65-year-old assassin in South Korea who is noticing that she is no longer as fit as she used to be. She makes a few slips up on the job and wonders when her company is going to force her into retirement. Due to the nature of…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, ageing, ambiguous protagonist, assassins, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Contemporary, CRIME, female authors, Gu Byeong-mo, heavy on telling, Korea, korean author, My reviews, published in 2013, read in 2022, reading, revenge, SUSPENSE, The Old Woman with the Knife, THRILLER, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park
Brimming with humor and life, Love in the Big City makes for an entertaining read. I found its protagonist’s lighthearted narration to be deeply compulsive and I was hooked to his story from the very first pages. Similarly to Frying Plantain and The Nakano Thrift Shop Love in the Big City is divided into self-contained…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, Contemporary, conversational style, friendships, gay, heartbreak/breakups, HUMOR, interconnected stories, Korea, Korean, korean author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Love in the Big City, m/m, male authors, mental health, mothers & sons, My reviews, published in 2019, queer, read in 2021, reading, Seoul, sex, SEXUALITY, SLICE OF LIFE, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
While I appreciated the subject matter (no matter how infuriating & depressing), I could not get into the robotic style. This book opens with Kim Jiyoune, a housewife and stay-at-home mother, acting in an increasingly concerning manner. Depressive episodes give way to ‘bizarre’ instances in which she emulates the behaviour of other women. Her concerned…
1980s, 1990s, 2.5 STARS, 2000s, 2010s, Adult, ALIENATION, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Cho Nam-Joo, cold tone, Contemporary, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, feminism, Korea, Korean, korean author, MARRIAGE, mental health, millennial, motherhood, My reviews, pregnancy, published in 2016, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, subject over characters/story, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, work culture -
Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah
“Objects, matter itself, were softly disintegrating. All identity became ambiguous, semi-opaque.” As the fickle creature that I am what drew me to Untold Night and Day was its cover. The first few pages intrigued me as they focus on Kim Ayami a former actor who now works at an audio theatre for the blind. The…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, actors, Adult, Bae Suah, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, existentialism, female authors, Korea, Korean, korean author, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, published in 2013, read in 2021, reading, style over character, stylised prose, surreal, theatre, TRANSLATED FICTION, Untold Night and Day, weird -
Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun
I read Lemon only a few days ago and yet I can barely recall what it was about. Which isn’t a good sign. According to the summary, this was meant to be a suspenseful work exploring trauma, grief, and guilt but to be perfectly honest, it was anything but suspenseful and its themes felt barely…
-
Shoko’s Smile: Stories by Eun-young Choi
When it comes to collections of short stories, more often than not, I find myself rather unaffected by them. While most collections do have one or two good stories in them, the remainder tends to be either forgettable or plain bad. The stories in Shoko’s Smile are by no means terrible but they did strike…
3 STARS, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, Contemporary, Eun-young Choi, family, female authors, friendships, GRIEF, intergenerational, japan, Korea, Korean, korean author, My reviews, published in 2016, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, short stories, TRANSLATED FICTION -
I’ll Be Right There by Shin Kyung-sook
“Is this life? Is this why the relentless passing of time is both regretful and fortunate?” I feel rather conflicted about I’ll Be Right There. The first two chapters certainly held my attention and some of the discussions that occur later in the narrative were thought-provoking, but, alas, many of the dialogues came across as…
1980s, 3 STARS, academia, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, DEATH, drama, eating disorders, female authors, friendships, GRIEF, HISTORICAL FICTION, I'll Be Right There, Korea, Korean, korean author, loneliness, MELODRAMA, MEMORY, mental health, My reviews, published in 2010, read in 2021, reading, Seoul, Shin Kyung-Sook, suicide, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE
luce [is reading] 