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blueridgebookworm's review
4.0
Bonner’s book club #4 - “I have spent my life building rooms in my mind to step in or to never step in and it is as if I have built all the rooms wrong.”
othersociologist's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty and War
tlindhorst's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is book of short stories about the Korean diaspora. Stretching from the Edo period in Japan to a Russian island today, Yoon weaves history through out these tantalizing fragments of stories. This is a book in which the reader’s reflection will reveal more and more. An undercurrent of loneliness, isolation and trauma haunts these stories.
Having read other reviews, I want to add that I enjoyed the fragmentary style that left mystery after mystery unresolved in these stories. In my own reflections on what the author may have been trying to communicate, I saw the structure of these stories as a mirror of the dislocation and loss of cohesion that comes about through forced migration, war, trauma. This is not a collection for people looking for an uplifting read or stories that have a clear and unified arc.
Having read other reviews, I want to add that I enjoyed the fragmentary style that left mystery after mystery unresolved in these stories. In my own reflections on what the author may have been trying to communicate, I saw the structure of these stories as a mirror of the dislocation and loss of cohesion that comes about through forced migration, war, trauma. This is not a collection for people looking for an uplifting read or stories that have a clear and unified arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War
dembury's review
2.0
Objectively I can acknowledge the historical hauntedness that runs through these stories and appreciate the exploration of the Korean diaspora, but at the same time I’m going to acknowledge that Yoon’s writing is so deeply flat and stiff that I was bored shitless most of the time reading this. This man must hate adjectives and sentence structure variation because his prose is downright monotone. For veryyyyy brief moments, that tone amplifies a portion of a story, but then immediately it just becomes dull again.
Every single one of the stories also has the same style ending, almost a trailing-off of the voice that just…ends.
“At the Post Station” is the strongest work in this collection, but even that ultimately felt unfinished.
Every single one of the stories also has the same style ending, almost a trailing-off of the voice that just…ends.
“At the Post Station” is the strongest work in this collection, but even that ultimately felt unfinished.
dingokitty14's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
elyseyost's review
fast-paced
4.25
I’ll start off by saying that Paul Yoon has beautiful prose that made this book a very enjoyable read. Overall, I think many of the short stories lacked depth in a way, like, I needed more from them in order to get closure and/or full connection to the themes. I feel that the last short story was the most successful and the most ‘complete.’ Even though the narrator’s voice seemed distant from the characters, this piece seemed to be a profound message on generational trauma and the stories that don’t survive to the next generation.
tarrowood's review against another edition
5.0
Quick bout of short stories this afternoon/evening. Yoon paints some full characters that imbue truth and beauty some of the most haunting ways
book_concierge's review
3.0
From the book jacket: On Sakhalin Island, a boy searches for his father, a prison guard. In Barcelona, a woman is tasked with spying on a prize-fighter who may or may not be her estranged son. A samurai escorts an orphan to his country men during the Edo period. A formerly incarcerated man starts a new life in a small town in upstate New York and attempts to build a family.
My reactions:
I like this kind of literary fiction. This is a collection of short stories, all featuring Koreans. The settings and time frame vary, from Europe to Asia to North America, from the 19th century to contemporary times.
What they have in common is the way in which Yoon depicts his characters. We learn about their dreams, aspirations, disappointments, frustrations through the actions they take.
My reactions:
I like this kind of literary fiction. This is a collection of short stories, all featuring Koreans. The settings and time frame vary, from Europe to Asia to North America, from the 19th century to contemporary times.
What they have in common is the way in which Yoon depicts his characters. We learn about their dreams, aspirations, disappointments, frustrations through the actions they take.