hannahslibrary92's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting book for me, and in some ways that makes it difficult to review.
There were parts of this book which pulled me in, I was immersed in the story, connected to the people, felt as if I were standing right there with them.
And then there were other parts which, honestly felt a little disconnected, almost a fact dump/history lesson and I love reading about different cultures and time periods and finding out more.
It's just, in a few places in this book, I felt the way the history was written into it, wasnt natural enough to blend with the other parts of the story, which left it feeling a little off.
So, while I enjoyed the book as a whole, this negative pulled my rating down.
There were parts of this book which pulled me in, I was immersed in the story, connected to the people, felt as if I were standing right there with them.
And then there were other parts which, honestly felt a little disconnected, almost a fact dump/history lesson and I love reading about different cultures and time periods and finding out more.
It's just, in a few places in this book, I felt the way the history was written into it, wasnt natural enough to blend with the other parts of the story, which left it feeling a little off.
So, while I enjoyed the book as a whole, this negative pulled my rating down.
amandar9fa2f's review
3.0
Love, Betrayal and Intrigue as Korea Splits Asunder
Yunho tracks down his childhood friend, Johnny, to a Seoul bar, where he is dancing with mysterious femme fatale, Eve Moon. It’s not long before Yunho, too, falls under Eve’s spell. Forced to flee the political unrest, the three make their way to the Japanese Korean quarter of Osaka. Who is Eve? North Korean refugee or American spy? Then a girl goes missing and Johnny falls under suspicion.
The ambitious scope of the novel plays out across thirty years of Korean history, and brings to life the constant fear of living during civil war and dictatorship. Here we see corruption and food shortages, the little man's/woman's pettiness and gossip with powerful outcomes, and how dissent risks the life of your entire family.
Kim’s clear, understated prose and atmospheric, sensuous writing places the reader in the moment. We smell the food cooking while popular songs of the day underscore the narrative. She also explores the nature of memory; its unreliability, sometimes coming unbidden and at others only fleetingly.
The Great Homecoming dives deep into a fascinating period of Korean history little-understood by those beyond its borders. Ultimately, this is its weakness: the history lessons obscure the human story. So often, the narrative breaks off for several pages to insert political history, then expects the reader to pick up the thread when we reconnect to the story.
Compelling but imbalanced.
My thanks to NetGalley and Granta for the ARC.
Yunho tracks down his childhood friend, Johnny, to a Seoul bar, where he is dancing with mysterious femme fatale, Eve Moon. It’s not long before Yunho, too, falls under Eve’s spell. Forced to flee the political unrest, the three make their way to the Japanese Korean quarter of Osaka. Who is Eve? North Korean refugee or American spy? Then a girl goes missing and Johnny falls under suspicion.
The ambitious scope of the novel plays out across thirty years of Korean history, and brings to life the constant fear of living during civil war and dictatorship. Here we see corruption and food shortages, the little man's/woman's pettiness and gossip with powerful outcomes, and how dissent risks the life of your entire family.
Kim’s clear, understated prose and atmospheric, sensuous writing places the reader in the moment. We smell the food cooking while popular songs of the day underscore the narrative. She also explores the nature of memory; its unreliability, sometimes coming unbidden and at others only fleetingly.
The Great Homecoming dives deep into a fascinating period of Korean history little-understood by those beyond its borders. Ultimately, this is its weakness: the history lessons obscure the human story. So often, the narrative breaks off for several pages to insert political history, then expects the reader to pick up the thread when we reconnect to the story.
Compelling but imbalanced.
My thanks to NetGalley and Granta for the ARC.
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