qomareads's review
3.0
2.5⭐️
It could have been better. I’ve read better.
I found this one was dark, but everything was just not deep enough. The world-building is only on the surface, and the emotional exchanges between characters aren't fleshed out enough for me to sympathise with them.The multiple POVs disrupt the pacing of the story, and there’s so much potential, but the execution just isn't it.
I found a lot of interesting points to take away from the book. The prose and use of language were direct. I loved how this book introduced marginalised characters in Korean society, like queer, disabled, and mixed race.
It could have been better. I’ve read better.
I found this one was dark, but everything was just not deep enough. The world-building is only on the surface, and the emotional exchanges between characters aren't fleshed out enough for me to sympathise with them.The multiple POVs disrupt the pacing of the story, and there’s so much potential, but the execution just isn't it.
I found a lot of interesting points to take away from the book. The prose and use of language were direct. I loved how this book introduced marginalised characters in Korean society, like queer, disabled, and mixed race.
palomagrl's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
elenavarg's review
4.0
(3,5 stars)
I had a long break from reading this, because it has so much rape and sexual assault in it. Although the descriptions weren’t too explicit, it’s still very hard for me to read about. If it didn’t have so much of it, I would’ve given the novel full four stars.
As for the rest of the story, it was beautifully written. The characters and their actions were very realistic and in all of it’s horridness, the story managed to be beautiful in the end. One of the best apocalypse stories I’ve read!
I had a long break from reading this, because it has so much rape and sexual assault in it. Although the descriptions weren’t too explicit, it’s still very hard for me to read about. If it didn’t have so much of it, I would’ve given the novel full four stars.
As for the rest of the story, it was beautifully written. The characters and their actions were very realistic and in all of it’s horridness, the story managed to be beautiful in the end. One of the best apocalypse stories I’ve read!
jenniiireads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a really interesting book that was rather quick to read. It was my first korean book I've read and the concept with the apocalypse and sort of link to covid vibes. It was so intriguing to hear about each womens experiences, especially since it feels very real to the point that I believe it would happen if the world ever came to this point. That said, I didn't really like the ending. The theme behind it, with the women coming together was very sweet, but I just didn't like the slight cliffhanger. I understand it is hard to end an apocalyptic story as there isn't really an end apart from surviving but this just left me wanting slightly more. But all round, very unique story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
fonkun's review
4.0
TO THE WARM HORIZON is the first queer Korean novel to be translated into English.
TO THE WARM ON THE HORIZON is a subtle book that will have you navigating a sea of emotions as you turn the pages. The book was first published in Korean in 2017, long before the COVID-19 outbreak, but there’s just something about the way that Choi depicts the collapse of civilization in the aftermath of a pandemic that feels eerily familiar, yet hard to swallow. Coming out of the novel felt like emerging from a fever dream brought on by Choi’s simple, delicate, and elegant writing.
“Even in happy moments, I couldn’t scrub away the melancholy that coated me like a second skin or blow away the fog that separated me from the world.”
This is a character-driven book told from multiple POVs. We get to read about people’s ‘core’, their psyche, shown by their different reactions to a world ravaged by the pandemic. Personally, I grew attached to the characters, and that’s why it was horrible to read at times because of what they have to endure just to survive. This book may just have been the darkest book I’ve read so far, but there are slivers of hope offered, with the characters holding on to each other and their dreams.
The thing is the book is not just a pandemic novel - it’s also a queer love story.
Full review on Instagram @movedbyprose
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTEvhT9h7_Y/
TO THE WARM ON THE HORIZON is a subtle book that will have you navigating a sea of emotions as you turn the pages. The book was first published in Korean in 2017, long before the COVID-19 outbreak, but there’s just something about the way that Choi depicts the collapse of civilization in the aftermath of a pandemic that feels eerily familiar, yet hard to swallow. Coming out of the novel felt like emerging from a fever dream brought on by Choi’s simple, delicate, and elegant writing.
“Even in happy moments, I couldn’t scrub away the melancholy that coated me like a second skin or blow away the fog that separated me from the world.”
This is a character-driven book told from multiple POVs. We get to read about people’s ‘core’, their psyche, shown by their different reactions to a world ravaged by the pandemic. Personally, I grew attached to the characters, and that’s why it was horrible to read at times because of what they have to endure just to survive. This book may just have been the darkest book I’ve read so far, but there are slivers of hope offered, with the characters holding on to each other and their dreams.
The thing is the book is not just a pandemic novel - it’s also a queer love story.
Full review on Instagram @movedbyprose
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTEvhT9h7_Y/
morebedsidebooks's review
inspiring
sad
tense
4.0
Everyone was bad. Everyone who didn’t die, who survived, who couldn’t help but continue to live like this, was bad. If we survived, if we somehow survived these horrors, we shouldn’t be this way. It was possible for us not to be this way. Why were we ruining it? Why were we making life harder?
To the Warm Horizon by Choi Jin-Young imagines the aftermath of an immensely deadly pandemic throwing the world into chaos and the violence that also runs rampant. Published originally in 2017 but translated to English by Soje in 2021, this is a book that faces a reception influenced not just by different cultures, countries, and languages but the before. The world it was written in and the world it later enters. Dystopian, increased disparities, misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, and conspiracy theories, extreme false cures, dangerous violent creeds, war—all the desensitization and normalized death and suffering are familiar.
A sullen book filled with what people lose and leave, while trying to show something that humans can find and still hold onto. In this case love. How does this in different forms warp, survive, and inform action when there are so many devastating circumstances and instances of people being awful. The need to show love to oneself. The kindred relationships that can buckle or persist. And especially queer love. A wlw love story is in there too. One of a few now available novels with LGBTQ+ characters from South Korea.
So, is there also a takeaway from the several different characters and their perspectives? One might hope for the relief found by Gunji, the realizations of Ryu, the kindness and resilience of Jina, the purpose and strength of Dori, and in thinking up new dreams like Joy. In a world where “There’s no such thing as never going to happen.” people can hold on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, War, Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Minor: Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Alcohol, Gore, Infidelity, and Bullying
Characters take life in acts of self defense or war and one point must also provide forced labor.emjasmine's review
dark
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault