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dreaminthepages's review against another edition
4.0
This was a book my mum gave me (not so much as a gift, she just gave it to me) and that in itself contributed to the rush of feelings and emotion I felt when I read this, because of the whole background of the authors own mother. I started reading this when I was quite young and never really got the chance to finish it but then again I was able to pick it up again and again I did not finish it...so technically I have not really read the whole story but would love to pick it up again as an adult. But what I did read, left me feeling really sad and it was just all very upsetting. What I enjoyed about this book, as opposed to A Child Called It etc, is that the story of this author transcends continents.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading autobiogaphries by not-so-famous people and people who find inspiration from these kind of authors who share their life struggles and makes you wonder about all the unique life stories in this world.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading autobiogaphries by not-so-famous people and people who find inspiration from these kind of authors who share their life struggles and makes you wonder about all the unique life stories in this world.
cami19's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
fearlessknitter's review against another edition
5.0
Once I've stopped sobbing, I'll come back here and write a review.
nessa92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This is one of the best memoirs I’ve read! It’s harrowing and thought provoking and left me thinking on Elizabeth and her unjust life for days after finishing! I went through a lot of emotions reading this, from anger to happiness and most in between! I will be rereading this at some point and I highly recommend to all!
thesimplelibrary's review against another edition
3.0
Elizabeth Kim writes her memoir of a Korean orphan in a poetic, yet accessible way. From her earliest memories as an illegitimate child of a Korean peasant and American GI, to her childhood as an adopted child of two fundamentalist Christians and her account of struggles as a single mother, Kim meticulously captures her feelings of loneliness and abandonment.
The inclusion of her own poetry is a wonderful extension to the harrowing atmosphere, as are the written observations from Leigh, her own daughter. Elizabeth Kim has powers of observation and introspection, and a good understanding of her heritage and the implications it has brought her.
A trauma memoir, a category which, i.a., this autobiography falls under, is never an easy read, and "Ten Thousand Sorrows" is no exception to the case. It is an emotional tale that covers themes of survival, violence, abuse, and healing, and it is not recommended for the faint-hearted among us.
The reason for giving a 3 star rating is my own dislike of her repetitive thoughts. I felt that each chapter ended in the same, rather pessimistic tone, something similar to what Kim tells us in chapter fifteen : "everything we have vanishes someday. If love were to arrive, the knowledge that someday it would leave would be devastating". This tone is partly set of course because of Kim's inability to heal throughout the majority of the book, as her healing process only seems to starts and end in the few last chapters.
Nonetheless, it is a highly interesting and good read, and recommended to those who are interested in immigrant and trauma memoir.
The inclusion of her own poetry is a wonderful extension to the harrowing atmosphere, as are the written observations from Leigh, her own daughter. Elizabeth Kim has powers of observation and introspection, and a good understanding of her heritage and the implications it has brought her.
A trauma memoir, a category which, i.a., this autobiography falls under, is never an easy read, and "Ten Thousand Sorrows" is no exception to the case. It is an emotional tale that covers themes of survival, violence, abuse, and healing, and it is not recommended for the faint-hearted among us.
The reason for giving a 3 star rating is my own dislike of her repetitive thoughts. I felt that each chapter ended in the same, rather pessimistic tone, something similar to what Kim tells us in chapter fifteen : "everything we have vanishes someday. If love were to arrive, the knowledge that someday it would leave would be devastating". This tone is partly set of course because of Kim's inability to heal throughout the majority of the book, as her healing process only seems to starts and end in the few last chapters.
Nonetheless, it is a highly interesting and good read, and recommended to those who are interested in immigrant and trauma memoir.
rachjy's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
liralen's review against another edition
3.0
In Ten Thousand Sorrows, Kim chronicles one sorrow after another: the murder of her mother in a so-called honour killing in Korea; the alienation she felt in her adopted country, the US; the beatings and indignities her fundamentalist Christian adoptive parents bestowed upon her for failing to bend enough to their interpretation of Christianity; the physical abuse she faced at the hands of the husband those same parents chose for her.
Kim's writing is at its best when showing the reader the actions of the people around her and letting the reader draw conclusions. Unfortunately, as often as not, the actions come with a hefty side of biting descriptions when the narrative might be better served by deeper digging into who people were and why—not to tell 'their side' of the story but to round out the story. I'm not sure how much of her memories of her Korean mother are fact and how much of them are a child's fuzziness mixed with an adult's educated guesses (Kim's mother died when she was five or six, and any chance of family contact died with her), but I'd have been interested in seeing more discussion of that: of what Kim has tried, or not tried, to find out and why; of the reliability of a child's memories (I mean this as less doubtful than it might sound—just that it would be an interesting thing to discuss); of whether she remembers any good moments with her adoptive parents and whether visiting Korea again was ever in the cards and so on.
Kim's writing is at its best when showing the reader the actions of the people around her and letting the reader draw conclusions. Unfortunately, as often as not, the actions come with a hefty side of biting descriptions when the narrative might be better served by deeper digging into who people were and why—not to tell 'their side' of the story but to round out the story. I'm not sure how much of her memories of her Korean mother are fact and how much of them are a child's fuzziness mixed with an adult's educated guesses (Kim's mother died when she was five or six, and any chance of family contact died with her), but I'd have been interested in seeing more discussion of that: of what Kim has tried, or not tried, to find out and why; of the reliability of a child's memories (I mean this as less doubtful than it might sound—just that it would be an interesting thing to discuss); of whether she remembers any good moments with her adoptive parents and whether visiting Korea again was ever in the cards and so on.
kingfan30's review against another edition
3.0
I’m in two minds about this book. There is no denying it’s a terrible story, to witness an honour killing and then go on to be adopted by a very odd couple, however I couldn’t help question how she could remember so much of her early life with her birth mother when it comes across that she was very young when it happened. I also question when this all occurred as there is no indication as to what year, and yet when she arrives in America to live with her adoptive parents, she talks about the segregation of the races so it appears to be some time ago and may explain, what I can only call, the strange behaviour of her new family. And there’s so much early life and seemed to rush though her later life.