Reviews

okay, I wasn’t expecting this to read like random trains of thoughts......

First of all, I like that this gives insight to a particular bit of history that I’ve never heard of before. The factory girls and the special program for their education is interesting and I wish the story could have focused more on that. Perhaps I was wrong in expecting a story when really this is a somewhat autobiographical memoir. It’s more of a recollection of things that the author has went through imo.

Secondly, the writing is lovely. Kudos to both the original writer and the translator for that. It is slightly confusing though since the tenses are the same but the author will jump from present (where the narrator is 32) to the past (where the narrator is 16) without much fanfare.

I’m no expert at analysing literature and much of my reviews rely on me enjoying the story or not. In this case, it’s a bit too meandering for me. I just prefer my reading material to be simple 🙈 however, I did and probably always will enjoy the way Kyung Sook describes Korea.

heylook's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

First things first, this book reads almost as if it were translated one word at a time, or plugged in to google translate. It definitely wasn't copy-edited. All over the place, pronouns, prepositions, other words are missing from sentences. Stylistic quirks pop up here and there randomly that aren't present anywhere else in the text. Events taking place in the framing story are told in the past tense, while the 'real' narrative is presented in present tense, except when the author/translator/editor forgets and screws it up.

All THAT being said, the book doesn't tell us anything. It's certainly not about loneliness. Most of the narrative concerns a teenage girl working at a factory to pay for school, except it all ultimately doesn't matter, it's just telling us what goes on, nothing deeper. Then union busting pops up - ah, conflict! But there's almost never any investment in it, emotionally, philosophically. Then there's a friendship/romance thing, but that too comes and goes until the end of the book, in which something happens that ultimately doesn't really cause any changes either. There's a narrative about a friend whose father has a secret, and . . . it just kind of gets forgotten. There's a narrative about people i nthe author's life reacting to the things she's written, but it too is only superficially important. Basically the entire book is like a high-school level personal narrative. Things happen, emotions are felt, but none of it really means anything - and this isn't intended, it's just poor writing.

bookhoarder_neha's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative 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? No

3.0

#bookhoarderreviews

I think auto-fiction is a tricky genre to write. The lines between the autobiographical account and the fictionalised version gets blurred and leaves the reader confused at times. I wanted to exude empathy for the condition and struggle of the author but was disoriented since couldn’t fathom where the autobiographical account amalgamated with the fictional version.

The story starts promisingly with her journey from the country side to Seoul to work in an industrial sweatshop along with an unnamed cousin. The initial usage of phrases like ‘I, 17 year old’ and ‘lone room’ and not revealing the names of her family members built upon the effectiveness of the writing.

Midway through the book, the usage of these phrases and references to unnamed characters became extremely repetitive and frustrating leading to confusion at times. At several places, I had to go back in my audiobook to understand who was being referred to at particular points in the story. I felt some fictional names could have been given to the characters instead of calling them eldest brother, first brother, second brother, cousin to do away with the ambiguity.

While I appreciate the author’s efforts to pen down the plight of the Korean citizens in the post war industrialisation struggle, I felt the writing to be average. A few parts like her attempts at being able to attend school and become a writer and the worker’s collective scuffles were well written. But the author failed to engage me in the family dynamics that was also a huge part of the story.

I would recommend this book if you want to educate yourself about the industrialisation process in South Korea, post war struggle of the citizens and are able to assimilate auto-fiction. This was my third attempt at reading this genre and I am not sure if it is for me.

karinlib's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I read [b:I'll Be Right There|18209505|I'll Be Right There|Kyung-Sook Shin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1375064441s/18209505.jpg|25630312] by [a:Kyung-Sook Shin|7773619|Kyung-Sook Shin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1409486756p2/7773619.jpg] last year and I have been wanting to read this and her first book [b:Please Look After Mom|8574333|Please Look After Mom|Kyung-Sook Shin|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1320413213s/8574333.jpg|13443181]. Although I didn't love this book as much as I'll Be Right There, I still enjoyed this immensely.

An unnamed narrator, who is a popular author in South Korea receives a call from an old co-worker, who is wondering if the author is ashamed of her once friends. So, the author writes the story of her years working in a stereo factory and going to school at night to finish High School.

masami's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A

3.75

ceciliabereadin's review against another edition

Go to review page

bored

More...