as_a_tre3's review
5.0
What a way to contemplate death! I am forever renewed in the way of seeing death through reading this collection of poems with such theme. I would read it again for refreshed profound thinking in understanding the life and death within the ties to patriarchy, capitalism, and neoliberalism within our globalized context utilizing feminist lens with specified context such as in South Korea. Love it!
heathero621's review
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
3.75
I have a goal of reading one poetry book per month and I needed something for July, so I did a quick Google search and this was a recommended book. It sounded interesting to me, but I thought that there would be a stronger thread between death and what I was reading. At the end of the book there was a q&a with the author and she explained more about the book and I think that if I had read that first, I would have gotten more out of the poems and they would have made more sense to me. There was something about the writing that I really enjoyed though, I'm having a hard time putting my finger on it. It is interesting too because this is a translation. I loved the drawings too.
ninajohanne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
2.0
crookedtreehouse's review
I am mostly not rating or reviewing poetry collections anymore, as every day I know more and more authors personally.
My one note for this book is, don't skip the interview at the end. It's just as poetic and interesting as the poems in the book. Don Mee Choi and Kim Hyesoon play off each other so well. I would read an entire book made up of just their conversations.
My one note for this book is, don't skip the interview at the end. It's just as poetic and interesting as the poems in the book. Don Mee Choi and Kim Hyesoon play off each other so well. I would read an entire book made up of just their conversations.
sky_reaper's review
4.0
In some traditions and religions, they believe that the souls of the departed roam around the earth for 49 days. That's why prayers, rituals, and ceremonies are held to remember and help the dead pass on to the next life.
This collection of poems about the various people who died in tragic and brutal deaths in the history of South Korea is a kind of painful reminder to all of us alive that these kinds of demise just don't happen as a mere accident or happenstance, but of systemic origin in which we conscientiously belong.
It's a heavy read for me. Not in a tear-jerking way, but in that kind of heaviness that is lacking presence, yet like a dark cloud it clings and dampens one's being. I don't usually take time reading something as short as this collection, but I knew I needed a break. As I tread on, I realized this book is a long list of unnamed deaths written as a form of vigil -- like an offering to whoever or whatever that is in charge of this business somewhere out there.
On the other hand, it reminds me that all kinds of ending, like death, lingers; not only in memory but in all faculties available at our disposal. It stays whether we are alive or not: if it's someone we love or one of our fellow being meeting theirs right before our eyes. I can't say if the same thing goes to the dead. Who knows?
This collection of poems about the various people who died in tragic and brutal deaths in the history of South Korea is a kind of painful reminder to all of us alive that these kinds of demise just don't happen as a mere accident or happenstance, but of systemic origin in which we conscientiously belong.
It's a heavy read for me. Not in a tear-jerking way, but in that kind of heaviness that is lacking presence, yet like a dark cloud it clings and dampens one's being. I don't usually take time reading something as short as this collection, but I knew I needed a break. As I tread on, I realized this book is a long list of unnamed deaths written as a form of vigil -- like an offering to whoever or whatever that is in charge of this business somewhere out there.
On the other hand, it reminds me that all kinds of ending, like death, lingers; not only in memory but in all faculties available at our disposal. It stays whether we are alive or not: if it's someone we love or one of our fellow being meeting theirs right before our eyes. I can't say if the same thing goes to the dead. Who knows?