karenchiarajo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
Chung has written a beautiful novel about family relationships. Like most families that love is complex, misinterpreted, misunderstood. Can you ever really know how your mother's/father's/sibling's inner life informs the way they navigate family ties. Your family are the closest people to you and yet can also be the furthest away. You don't cut family slack the way you cut friends and acquaintances slack. You expect them to be better. It is only when you are close to losing that connection forever do you try to put that aside. So many things unsaid, and yet still felt.
I don't know why, but Janie's father's habit of saying "shake" to his daughters broke my heart. it was a perfect detail. So real and said so much about the character, what he felt as an immigrant, what he wished for his daughters, his affection for them. It is the one detail I can't shake.
I don't know why, but Janie's father's habit of saying "shake" to his daughters broke my heart. it was a perfect detail. So real and said so much about the character, what he felt as an immigrant, what he wished for his daughters, his affection for them. It is the one detail I can't shake.
callielion's review against another edition
5.0
It’s a beautifully written story about family, sisters, home, responsibility, secrets, misunderstandings… and it’s not hard to get through at all. Definitely something to pick up if you want to go on a quick, moving journey.
diamondolc's review against another edition
3.0
Pros: this book gives an emotional and sincere account of family trauma. It’s even pretty heart-wrenching at times.
Cons: there were random inaccuracies here and there that just pulled me out of the narrative and made me question the accuracy of the rest of the book. For example, the author talks about Agent Orange being used in the Korean War. She is clearly confusing this with the Vietnam War, since Agent Orange did not even exist at the time of the Korean War. How did such a blatant mistake get past editing?? Also, claiming that Koreans wear white for mourning (it’s black), claiming that Koreans marry early (median age of marriage in South Korea is around 32. In my experience Americans marry much earlier), claiming that the Korean mandatory military service is one year long (it has never been that short. Currently it’s 18 months, the shortest it’s ever been), and even trying to hint that North Koreans eat children!!! I can’t believe any of these got past the editor but especially the last one is just insulting! It makes me wonder if the author has ever actually been to Korea.
Those kind of ruined the story for me. Beyond that though, the characters are not particularly interesting. There is not much character growth either. I was also disappointed by the overall lack of atmosphere.
However I do think the author is a talented writer and has the potential to do better.
Cons: there were random inaccuracies here and there that just pulled me out of the narrative and made me question the accuracy of the rest of the book. For example, the author talks about Agent Orange being used in the Korean War. She is clearly confusing this with the Vietnam War, since Agent Orange did not even exist at the time of the Korean War. How did such a blatant mistake get past editing?? Also, claiming that Koreans wear white for mourning (it’s black), claiming that Koreans marry early (median age of marriage in South Korea is around 32. In my experience Americans marry much earlier), claiming that the Korean mandatory military service is one year long (it has never been that short. Currently it’s 18 months, the shortest it’s ever been), and even trying to hint that North Koreans eat children!!! I can’t believe any of these got past the editor but especially the last one is just insulting! It makes me wonder if the author has ever actually been to Korea.
Those kind of ruined the story for me. Beyond that though, the characters are not particularly interesting. There is not much character growth either. I was also disappointed by the overall lack of atmosphere.
However I do think the author is a talented writer and has the potential to do better.
alexblackreads's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book was absolutely lovely. Catherine Chung crafted a beautiful story about an immigrant Korean family that was as heartbreaking as it was sweet. I'm not going to lie, the ending had me in tears. I really felt for this family and I was invested from page one. Chung is a wonderful writer. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a family-centric story with all their flaws and regrets.
I will say, the description makes it sound like it's more mystery when it's really about a family and Janie's coming of age. This kind of discrepancy usually annoys me, but this story was so much better than what I was expecting.
I will say, the description makes it sound like it's more mystery when it's really about a family and Janie's coming of age. This kind of discrepancy usually annoys me, but this story was so much better than what I was expecting.
kerryanndunn's review against another edition
4.0
This is a gorgeously written debut novel with lovely insights into the complicated relationships between sisters, between husbands and wives, between parents and children. Interwoven throughout the family story are beautifully rendered Korean folk tales and fables. I'm not going to use this review to outline the plot or analyze the characters, I'm simply going to quote one of the many passages that dazzled me with its language and imagery and see if you can resist wanting to read this book:
"I sat, looking at my father with the hat over his face, watching the rise and fall of his breath, thinking of a book filled with all the things I still didn't know about his life. I thought: let him get better. I lay down beside him.
On my back, squinting against the light, I thought I could see the air moving. On the tree above us, a lone leaf quivered recklessly out of sync with the rest. When we were children, our mother had told us how trees grow: about the roots gripping the ground, the stable trunk, the branches, the separate leaves. She told us about veins we couldn't see carrying sap to all the branches, the chemical processes that turn light into sugar, chlorophyll infusing each leaf with green as it unfurls.
She told us that beneath the ground, where no one could see, some trees gripped each other's roots in the ground like so many held hands. Mahogany did it. Aspen. Gnarled wood grasped gnarled wood until one tree's roots were another tree's roots. In times of drought they passed water, when there were fires they passed messages of danger. Burning, an aspen would send the alert root to root so that even if it died itself, the other trees could bring up sap to save themselves from danger.
'Even plants live longer if they're closer to their families,' she'd said."
"I sat, looking at my father with the hat over his face, watching the rise and fall of his breath, thinking of a book filled with all the things I still didn't know about his life. I thought: let him get better. I lay down beside him.
On my back, squinting against the light, I thought I could see the air moving. On the tree above us, a lone leaf quivered recklessly out of sync with the rest. When we were children, our mother had told us how trees grow: about the roots gripping the ground, the stable trunk, the branches, the separate leaves. She told us about veins we couldn't see carrying sap to all the branches, the chemical processes that turn light into sugar, chlorophyll infusing each leaf with green as it unfurls.
She told us that beneath the ground, where no one could see, some trees gripped each other's roots in the ground like so many held hands. Mahogany did it. Aspen. Gnarled wood grasped gnarled wood until one tree's roots were another tree's roots. In times of drought they passed water, when there were fires they passed messages of danger. Burning, an aspen would send the alert root to root so that even if it died itself, the other trees could bring up sap to save themselves from danger.
'Even plants live longer if they're closer to their families,' she'd said."
emreadsfiction's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful story of family, grief, responsibility, and love. Chung’s first novel showcases the way that life and death happen together as one, and we see this as the relationship between Haejin and Jeehyun grows and changes while their father withers away under the weight of cancer. Jeehyun bears the increasing loneliness of being the eldest sister, responsible for Haejin’s safety from the time they are little. As her parents insist on her finding her run-away sister, Jeehyun grapples with school, her childhood, and being a daughter her father could be proud of. Meanwhile, Haejin chooses her own life story, and resentment from Jeehyun follows.
In a story that weaves folklore with the lives of a Korean family living in modern America and the family’s history back home in Korea, Chung takes us through a journey of self-discovery and familial bonds. I found myself wooed by the way Chung captures childhood on the page and displays it to us in a way we might all relate: with a mix of secrecy, foolishness, fear, and curiosity. Although I had anticipated Forgotten Country to be more of a mystery novel based on the book description, the true story grew on me quickly and I became impressed by the author’s ability to toss me between timelines while still keeping me on track throughout the narrative. Reading this work felt like sitting in a chair by a fireplace while an old woman told me the stories of her life.
In a story that weaves folklore with the lives of a Korean family living in modern America and the family’s history back home in Korea, Chung takes us through a journey of self-discovery and familial bonds. I found myself wooed by the way Chung captures childhood on the page and displays it to us in a way we might all relate: with a mix of secrecy, foolishness, fear, and curiosity. Although I had anticipated Forgotten Country to be more of a mystery novel based on the book description, the true story grew on me quickly and I became impressed by the author’s ability to toss me between timelines while still keeping me on track throughout the narrative. Reading this work felt like sitting in a chair by a fireplace while an old woman told me the stories of her life.
dizzle_reads's review against another edition
3.0
I feel a bit misled by the description of this book. I thought there'd be more intrigue/lore to it. I'm not going to say it was a bad book because that wasn't the case, however, there were so many loose ends that were just never acknowledged. And maybe that was at least part of the point. As a human being, I get it, things aren't always going to be tied up in neat little bows. But as a reader, I needed more.
flonew's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25