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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…
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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 -
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart. Richly observed and heartbreakingly candid Crying in H Mart provides a powerful account of a complicated mother-daughter relationship. In her memoir musician Michelle Zauner writes with painful clarity of when at age 25 her mother was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Zauner’s recollection of her…
4.5 STARS, America, American, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CHILDHOOD, Crying in H Mart, cultural dissonance, DEATH, family, female authors, food & cooking, GRIEF, identity, illness, intergenerational, Japanese Breakfast, Korea, Korean, korean american author, language, LGBTQ+ Author, MEMOIR, MEMORY, Michelle Zauner, mothers & daughters, music, musicians, My reviews, netgalley, published in 2021, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading -
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi
“I thought a polished appearance and stellar behavior would be the passport to belonging. And when I inevitably failed at perfection, I could at least wilfully do everything in my power to be kicked out before anyone left me.” tw: eating disorders Bursting with sharp humor and insight Yolk is a bighearted and profoundly honest…
1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, America, American, body dysmorphia, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cancer, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, eating disorders, family, favourite authors, female authors, food & cooking, identity, illness, intergenerational, introspective, Korea, Korean, korean american author, Mary H.K. Choi, mental health, migration/immigration, My reviews, NEW ADULT, NEW YORK, published in 2021, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, ROMANCE, sardonic humor, SISTERS, social media, texas, the female malaise, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, Yolk, YOUNG ADULT -
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin
“Oozing winter and fish, Sokcho waited. That was Sokcho, always waiting, for tourists, boats, men, spring.” I have once again a bone to pick with the person responsible for the blurb of a novel. Elisa Shua Dusapin is a Franco-Korean female author so that means she will be compared to a French author (Marguerite Duras)…
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The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun
Last year I read Hye-Young Pyun’s The Law of Lines and in spite of a few reservations, I did find it to be an absorbing read. Yes, it was bleak, dark, and even grotesque at times but her tone never struck me as cruel or gratuitous. Given that The Hole won ‘Shirley Jackson Award for…
1 STAR, 3rd pov, abuse, Adult, affairs, all of the trigger warnings, books i hate, Contemporary, DEATH, disabilities, female authors, graphic content, grotesque, HORROR, Hye-Young Pyun, Korea, Korean, korean author, problematic, published in 2016, read in 2021, Shirley Jackson Award for Novel, SUSPENSE, The Hole, THRILLER, TRANSLATED FICTION
luce [is reading] 