caterinagberti's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
avalydia's review
3.0
More like 2.5.
I'm giving this rating not because it's a bad book, but because it leaves you feeling grimy all over. Which - to reiterate - is not a bad thing, but it's similar to Mad Max: Fury Road where I can objectively recognize that it was a fantastic piece of art and yet never want to watch it again. All of the characters in this book endure horrible things and then turn around and do horrible things to other characters. There's abuse, rape, trauma, racism, you name it. Most of the characters dream of making it to "America," but you know that the vast majority of them never will; Duk Hee's fate is especially depressing.
I'm giving this rating not because it's a bad book, but because it leaves you feeling grimy all over. Which - to reiterate - is not a bad thing, but it's similar to Mad Max: Fury Road where I can objectively recognize that it was a fantastic piece of art and yet never want to watch it again. All of the characters in this book endure horrible things and then turn around and do horrible things to other characters. There's abuse, rape, trauma, racism, you name it. Most of the characters dream of making it to "America," but you know that the vast majority of them never will; Duk Hee's fate is especially depressing.
msjoanna's review against another edition
4.0
Heartbreaking, gut wrenching, and impossible to look away. This novel gripped me by the throat and wouldn't let go even during the moments that the characters were all highly unlikable, the occasional moments when the timeline seemed to get confused, and the ultimately unsatisfying ending.
The book tells, in harsh and unrelenting detail, the story of Korean girls and women living as prostitutes in America Town, a GI camp toward the end of the Korean War. The book doesn't shy from the segregation and racism existed within the G.I. camp nor does it let the reader escape the uncomfortable and often harsh realities of life for the children chronicled here.
The beginning of the book explains that the chapters are written as letters that perhaps one character will one day deliver to the other. This allows the chapters to be related but somewhat disjointed, a mechanism that the author couldn't always control completely.
I liked this book enough to want to seek out the author's other work.
The book tells, in harsh and unrelenting detail, the story of Korean girls and women living as prostitutes in America Town, a GI camp toward the end of the Korean War. The book doesn't shy from the segregation and racism existed within the G.I. camp nor does it let the reader escape the uncomfortable and often harsh realities of life for the children chronicled here.
The beginning of the book explains that the chapters are written as letters that perhaps one character will one day deliver to the other. This allows the chapters to be related but somewhat disjointed, a mechanism that the author couldn't always control completely.
I liked this book enough to want to seek out the author's other work.
kwilterkris's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book I probably wouldn't have found on my own. It was required reading for my Diversity in Literature class. It is the middle book of a trilogy of women. Mother, daughers, grandaughters. It is about the Korean "comfort women" during the Korean war. Sad, graphic, but very interesting.
vanessavlvaler's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abandonment
icicle84's review against another edition
5.0
Unforgettable.
I can’t universally recommend the book. It’s VERY gritty, and contains triggers for nearly anyone who’s suffered any kind of abuse or difficult relationships, and plenty of people who haven’t.
But it’s highly moving and one of the most gut-wrenching books I’ve ever read. Perhaps if you’re not a very empathetic person you won’t connect with the characters - they can be unnecessarily mean and sniping at times, or they can be unrealistically calm and congenial at times you’d think the situation would call for more angst or even violence.
But they all come from dark backgrounds with significant trauma, and I disagree that this makes them unlikable. They’re pitiful, pathetic characters, but so are many of the people we pass in the street every day. We might call them ugly, undesirable, whores, idiots, any pejoratives our mind automatically settles on, without ever comprehending the trauma that could be in their past. The thesis of the book comes in one sentence more than 2/3 of the way through: “I didn’t care if she was ugly for the rest of her life; I knew how to love the unlovable.”
Some complain about the quick jumps in time and ages being unclear, but if those are issues they’re minor ones, and potentially even helpful in understanding the horror or the timeless nature of living the life these characters lived. Sometimes you read and think a year mist have passed, then you realize it was only a few days. Are these girls 24, 20, 16? What’s happening in the outside world? None of it matters to them, immersed in the filthy underworld where their grimy, gritty lives consist only of wringing every won they can from their young bodies with the hope of having enough food to eat and luxuries like beaded necklaces and GIs who will buy them candy.
My only real complaint is probably that it’s not gritty enough. The author’s optimism shines through a bit unrealistically at points - while some of the circumstances are certainly possible, I fully expected far more tragedy in places (don’t get me wrong - this book is a smack in the face with a nail-ridden 2x4, but I fully expected to be decapitated at the end too). Maybe the few brief respites are just there to keep readers from jumping off a tall building.
That minor critique aside, it’s a superlative book, and one I won’t ever forget.
I can’t universally recommend the book. It’s VERY gritty, and contains triggers for nearly anyone who’s suffered any kind of abuse or difficult relationships, and plenty of people who haven’t.
But it’s highly moving and one of the most gut-wrenching books I’ve ever read. Perhaps if you’re not a very empathetic person you won’t connect with the characters - they can be unnecessarily mean and sniping at times, or they can be unrealistically calm and congenial at times you’d think the situation would call for more angst or even violence.
But they all come from dark backgrounds with significant trauma, and I disagree that this makes them unlikable. They’re pitiful, pathetic characters, but so are many of the people we pass in the street every day. We might call them ugly, undesirable, whores, idiots, any pejoratives our mind automatically settles on, without ever comprehending the trauma that could be in their past. The thesis of the book comes in one sentence more than 2/3 of the way through: “I didn’t care if she was ugly for the rest of her life; I knew how to love the unlovable.”
Some complain about the quick jumps in time and ages being unclear, but if those are issues they’re minor ones, and potentially even helpful in understanding the horror or the timeless nature of living the life these characters lived. Sometimes you read and think a year mist have passed, then you realize it was only a few days. Are these girls 24, 20, 16? What’s happening in the outside world? None of it matters to them, immersed in the filthy underworld where their grimy, gritty lives consist only of wringing every won they can from their young bodies with the hope of having enough food to eat and luxuries like beaded necklaces and GIs who will buy them candy.
My only real complaint is probably that it’s not gritty enough. The author’s optimism shines through a bit unrealistically at points - while some of the circumstances are certainly possible, I fully expected far more tragedy in places (don’t get me wrong - this book is a smack in the face with a nail-ridden 2x4, but I fully expected to be decapitated at the end too). Maybe the few brief respites are just there to keep readers from jumping off a tall building.
That minor critique aside, it’s a superlative book, and one I won’t ever forget.
jandrablooms's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Trafficking, and Child death
Moderate: Abortion, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
rah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0