Scan barcode
mollief's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Honestly, loved this one. Really solid historical fiction. Audiobook is great.
readingwithathena's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5
If You Leave Me was both everything and nothing like I expected it to be- and I'm still deciding if that's a good or bad thing.
Some might be inclined to compare this to Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, but If You Leave Me is harsher and darker. If you've read Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road (or even seen the movie), I think you'd get a better feel for this novel. Hamei, Jisoo, and Kyunghwan make decisions for others, not themselves, and they end up miserable.
The protagonist, Haemi, is the most confounding part of the novel. The center of everything, you spend 400 pages watching her fall apart. At the beginning of the novel, she is fierce and rebellious, unsure of what she wants, but still sweet. She loves her baby brother, she worries about her mother, and she likes sneaking out to get drunk with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan. But then she marries his cousin, Jisoo, for stability, and things fall apart. As the book progresses, Haemi's fierceness turns into bitterness, her rebellion into cruelty, and her uncertainty into toxicity. You can either love her or hate her (a sentiment shared by almost every other character).
I like novels that are more character driven than plot driven, and this book is just that. The writing is beautiful, and the characters are extraordinarily detailed. But we probably didn't need so many perspectives (five characters narrate at least one chapter), and the book probably could have been 300 pages instead of 400. I liked this book, but I'm still unsure.
This is not a light read. It's heavy and haunting, and their misery lingers long after the book is finished.
If You Leave Me was both everything and nothing like I expected it to be- and I'm still deciding if that's a good or bad thing.
Some might be inclined to compare this to Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, but If You Leave Me is harsher and darker. If you've read Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road (or even seen the movie), I think you'd get a better feel for this novel. Hamei, Jisoo, and Kyunghwan make decisions for others, not themselves, and they end up miserable.
The protagonist, Haemi, is the most confounding part of the novel. The center of everything, you spend 400 pages watching her fall apart. At the beginning of the novel, she is fierce and rebellious, unsure of what she wants, but still sweet. She loves her baby brother, she worries about her mother, and she likes sneaking out to get drunk with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan. But then she marries his cousin, Jisoo, for stability, and things fall apart. As the book progresses, Haemi's fierceness turns into bitterness, her rebellion into cruelty, and her uncertainty into toxicity. You can either love her or hate her (a sentiment shared by almost every other character).
I like novels that are more character driven than plot driven, and this book is just that. The writing is beautiful, and the characters are extraordinarily detailed. But we probably didn't need so many perspectives (five characters narrate at least one chapter), and the book probably could have been 300 pages instead of 400. I liked this book, but I'm still unsure.
This is not a light read. It's heavy and haunting, and their misery lingers long after the book is finished.
sundayfever's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
Story about how regret leads to generational trauma. Well done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Abortion, Alcohol, and War
xarolyn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
catherine_mack's review against another edition
4.0
A beautifully told but achingly sad story of two men (cousins) who each think a woman belongs to them. In the midst of the Korean War, the woman, Haemi marries the man that will help her and her mother survive. But in the end, she cannot live with the regret and the suffering of a life that was never her own to live.
piapaya's review against another edition
4.0
I think my heart just broke.
I’ve always been drawn to stories where characters feel trapped by their circumstances and this book belongs with the other narratives that explore this particular theme. I’m writing (and rating) this from the vantage point of someone who relates because these characters and the choices they made hit so close to home. Both my grandmother and even my mother were very very much like Haemi, the main female character.
I’m experiencing palpable sadness here.
Side note: I feel like I have to add this since this novel is constantly being compared to it, but IMHO this was much much better than Pachinko in terms of craft, cultural insight, storytelling, and overall depth. The fact that novels by writers of color are often compared just purely on the basis that the setting is similar is a phenomenon that actually deeply disturbs me. But the whole problematic western perceptions/assumptions when reading novels about Asia (mainly making these novels into artifacts to be exoticized) is a whole other issue that needs to be unpacked in a place other than my little Goodreads blurb.
I’ve always been drawn to stories where characters feel trapped by their circumstances and this book belongs with the other narratives that explore this particular theme. I’m writing (and rating) this from the vantage point of someone who relates because these characters and the choices they made hit so close to home. Both my grandmother and even my mother were very very much like Haemi, the main female character.
I’m experiencing palpable sadness here.
Side note: I feel like I have to add this since this novel is constantly being compared to it, but IMHO this was much much better than Pachinko in terms of craft, cultural insight, storytelling, and overall depth. The fact that novels by writers of color are often compared just purely on the basis that the setting is similar is a phenomenon that actually deeply disturbs me. But the whole problematic western perceptions/assumptions when reading novels about Asia (mainly making these novels into artifacts to be exoticized) is a whole other issue that needs to be unpacked in a place other than my little Goodreads blurb.
beccathebookishbabe's review against another edition
2.5
I spent too much of this book thinking, “but what’s the point???”
akbrouhard's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5