kim_kiori's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
ex_odette's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
j_boundy's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
cheyenneisreading's review against another edition
5.0
“Now I will give you white things,
What is white, though may yet be sullied;
Only white things will I give.
No longer will I question
Whether I should give this life to you.”
Beautiful, emotional, haunting, an ever present ache, grief and loss, a loss of one we did not know but the loss is as real as loss ever can be
A personal set of short moments, like poetry, dripping its beauty across the page. I am speechless.
“the fact that our lives are no more than brief instants is felt with unequivocal clarity”
“Your sleep is clean, and the fact of your living is nothing to be ashamed of”
There are so many beautiful words within this book!
What is white, though may yet be sullied;
Only white things will I give.
No longer will I question
Whether I should give this life to you.”
Beautiful, emotional, haunting, an ever present ache, grief and loss, a loss of one we did not know but the loss is as real as loss ever can be
A personal set of short moments, like poetry, dripping its beauty across the page. I am speechless.
“the fact that our lives are no more than brief instants is felt with unequivocal clarity”
“Your sleep is clean, and the fact of your living is nothing to be ashamed of”
There are so many beautiful words within this book!
aliencatl0rd's review against another edition
1.0
Eh.
I guess I'm heartless because none of this content was moving in the slightest. I don't know what the point was.
I guess I'm heartless because none of this content was moving in the slightest. I don't know what the point was.
cestelaine's review
5.0
Having now read this book cover to cover twice in the space of a week (and already contemplating my third immersion) I can wholeheartedly say it has surpassed my expectations in every way.
Unlike her first two novels, The White Book was not designed with a structured narrative reach. There is no beginning, middle and end, but there is a story. Or rather there are magnitudes of stories, contained within the pages. It is a somewhat fractured, melting pot of autobiographical meditations, observations, dream-like prose, and pondered experience. The book intimately threads together themes of grief, place, history, memory, and mother-daughter relationships. A core focus is the death of her premature-born baby sister, whom her mother birthed alone at home when she was 22 years old. The baby died a mere two hours after arriving in the world, and Kang examines the ripple this event had throughout the history of the narrator.
The book is segmented into brief pages of prose, each titled with the name of a white object, some immediately identifiable (sugar, linen, paper) and some that require further thought (breath-cloud, silence, laughing whitely). Each title is a hint at the meditation contained within, the direction of thought and it's place within the everyday world. Juxtaposed with the writing are ghost-like photographs, presumed of Kang herself, a moving depiction of one of the deeper themes that lie throughout the book: if her sister had survived, would she even exist?
Kang's writing is elegantly poised, despite some of the deeper questions she pulls into existence. A few words that come to my mind to describe this book: Intense. Quietly moving. Serene. Dignified.
I've seen the book described as something more - as a piece of art, 'something to be experienced', and pretentious though that may sound, I'm finding it extremely difficult to argue with the idea..
Unlike her first two novels, The White Book was not designed with a structured narrative reach. There is no beginning, middle and end, but there is a story. Or rather there are magnitudes of stories, contained within the pages. It is a somewhat fractured, melting pot of autobiographical meditations, observations, dream-like prose, and pondered experience. The book intimately threads together themes of grief, place, history, memory, and mother-daughter relationships. A core focus is the death of her premature-born baby sister, whom her mother birthed alone at home when she was 22 years old. The baby died a mere two hours after arriving in the world, and Kang examines the ripple this event had throughout the history of the narrator.
The book is segmented into brief pages of prose, each titled with the name of a white object, some immediately identifiable (sugar, linen, paper) and some that require further thought (breath-cloud, silence, laughing whitely). Each title is a hint at the meditation contained within, the direction of thought and it's place within the everyday world. Juxtaposed with the writing are ghost-like photographs, presumed of Kang herself, a moving depiction of one of the deeper themes that lie throughout the book: if her sister had survived, would she even exist?
Kang's writing is elegantly poised, despite some of the deeper questions she pulls into existence. A few words that come to my mind to describe this book: Intense. Quietly moving. Serene. Dignified.
I've seen the book described as something more - as a piece of art, 'something to be experienced', and pretentious though that may sound, I'm finding it extremely difficult to argue with the idea..
milli_louise's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
hanzy's review against another edition
3.0
I was intrigued by the concept of this book and I must say, I was not disappointed