willascanlon's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Absolutely beautifully written but parts of it felt a little contrived to me. Def has some intense/triggering themes so that made it a bit of a challenging read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
museumeve's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
truheeeo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.0
ruthlee's review against another edition
2.0
The book is heavy on the exposition and as a result I had to slog through most of it, especially the bits about Chuck and his experiences in the Korean War, which dragged on and on. The relationship between Chuck and Katherine, while thoughtfully written, ultimately remained somewhat incomprehensible. What did they see in each other? Why did Katherine leave Charles for him? Ultimately I’m not left with very satisfying answers here.
The only thing that kept me engaged in this book was the complex, Lolita-esque relationship between Charles and Katherine, which leapt off the pages, but even with this redeeming quality I’d hesitate to recommend this book.
The only thing that kept me engaged in this book was the complex, Lolita-esque relationship between Charles and Katherine, which leapt off the pages, but even with this redeeming quality I’d hesitate to recommend this book.
jnelsontwo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
quitte's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
yi_shun_lai's review against another edition
i'm not going to rate this book because i just didn't finish it.
i couldn't. too many POV shifts, and too long between them. at some point i just didn't remember who was who because it had been so long between shifts.
AND with each shift the section started with a new character, a NEW point of view.
i just couldn't do it, although i badly wanted to. this is a demographic i know nothing about, from a country i'd like to know more about. maybe i'd better stick to YA and MG readers about the topic (_a single shard_)
i couldn't. too many POV shifts, and too long between them. at some point i just didn't remember who was who because it had been so long between shifts.
AND with each shift the section started with a new character, a NEW point of view.
i just couldn't do it, although i badly wanted to. this is a demographic i know nothing about, from a country i'd like to know more about. maybe i'd better stick to YA and MG readers about the topic (_a single shard_)
qiaosilin's review against another edition
2.0
Read for a class on Asian-American and -Canadian literature.
The Foreign Student is about Chang (English name: Chuck), a Korean studying in Sewanee, Tennessee, at the University of the South in 1955 after living through the Korean War (1951-1953).
Let me just first start off by saying that this is up there with the best of the best unrealistic romances. The book sort of bills itself as romance (the romance is between Chang and Katherine, an older (28 to Chang's 25) woman from Sewanee that just seems to idle around the town), but the two main characters barely interact with each other; certainly not enough to build a romance out of it. It's a car ride for maybe 45 minutes max the first time, then dinner one night, then seeing each other after church and talking for ~5 minutes – you get the gist of it. Basically, they have no interactions that I would call romantic in any sense of the word. Sure, they might want to bone, but that's quite different from being in love. In addition, there's the whole affair-with-an-older-man thing that Katherine has going on, which I wouldn't mind if not for the fact that she was 14 years old when it started! If it's 1955 when Katherine is 28 and she was 14 when it started, that means it was only 1941 when the affair first began. I'm not entirely sure because I wasn't alive then, but I'm pretty sure that adults having sex with 14-year-olds was not acceptable at that time. And super gross anyway for a book written in 1998! Why in God's name did Charles Addison (the older man, Katherine's father's friend) want to bone a 14-year-old??
The characters, in general, were all pretty flat. None of them really developed beyond what they originally started out as. I'd say Crane, Chang's university friend, changes because his last interaction with Chang (like midway through the book) kind of shows him to be more than what we'd seen so far. I suppose also Glee, Katherine's mother, between the flashbacks and the end of the novel is different. The largest exception happens to be Charles, the child rapist, which is not something I thought I would say. He's pretty well-rounded in comparison to Katherine and Chang.
The plot is rough, as well. It goes all over the place, with some chapters happening in the past and some in the present, but even some chapters contain both the past and the present from both main characters, so it's like getting whiplash – well, it would be if the plot moved at any sort of quick pace. Instead, it just meanders along like the Mississippi. How dull.
The most interesting parts were actually the ones set in the past because it felt like so much more stuff was happening there: Chang is going through the Korean War, Katherine is fucking up her life with Charles. But then we got stuff in the present and it was boring because all the focus was on Chang and he just studied or semi-pined for Katherine when he deigned to think about her, but there was no introspection or change happening so it was like watching paint dry.
I'd say this book feels like a mix between a Tennessee Williams play and The Notebook, only not as believable romantically as The Notebook and not anything that you would associate with a Tennessee Williams play aside from happening in the southern USA. So, basically, nothing like these two.
The Foreign Student is about Chang (English name: Chuck), a Korean studying in Sewanee, Tennessee, at the University of the South in 1955 after living through the Korean War (1951-1953).
Let me just first start off by saying that this is up there with the best of the best unrealistic romances. The book sort of bills itself as romance (the romance is between Chang and Katherine, an older (28 to Chang's 25) woman from Sewanee that just seems to idle around the town), but the two main characters barely interact with each other; certainly not enough to build a romance out of it. It's a car ride for maybe 45 minutes max the first time, then dinner one night, then seeing each other after church and talking for ~5 minutes – you get the gist of it. Basically, they have no interactions that I would call romantic in any sense of the word. Sure, they might want to bone, but that's quite different from being in love. In addition, there's the whole affair-with-an-older-man thing that Katherine has going on, which I wouldn't mind if not for the fact that she was 14 years old when it started! If it's 1955 when Katherine is 28 and she was 14 when it started, that means it was only 1941 when the affair first began. I'm not entirely sure because I wasn't alive then, but I'm pretty sure that adults having sex with 14-year-olds was not acceptable at that time. And super gross anyway for a book written in 1998! Why in God's name did Charles Addison (the older man, Katherine's father's friend) want to bone a 14-year-old??
The characters, in general, were all pretty flat. None of them really developed beyond what they originally started out as. I'd say Crane, Chang's university friend, changes because his last interaction with Chang (like midway through the book) kind of shows him to be more than what we'd seen so far. I suppose also Glee, Katherine's mother, between the flashbacks and the end of the novel is different. The largest exception happens to be Charles, the child rapist, which is not something I thought I would say. He's pretty well-rounded in comparison to Katherine and Chang.
The plot is rough, as well. It goes all over the place, with some chapters happening in the past and some in the present, but even some chapters contain both the past and the present from both main characters, so it's like getting whiplash – well, it would be if the plot moved at any sort of quick pace. Instead, it just meanders along like the Mississippi. How dull.
The most interesting parts were actually the ones set in the past because it felt like so much more stuff was happening there: Chang is going through the Korean War, Katherine is fucking up her life with Charles. But then we got stuff in the present and it was boring because all the focus was on Chang and he just studied or semi-pined for Katherine when he deigned to think about her, but there was no introspection or change happening so it was like watching paint dry.
I'd say this book feels like a mix between a Tennessee Williams play and The Notebook, only not as believable romantically as The Notebook and not anything that you would associate with a Tennessee Williams play aside from happening in the southern USA. So, basically, nothing like these two.