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bluelilyblue's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
5.0
waluigii's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to a pod episode about this book and the speaker said, “you’re not meant to understand, you’re just meant to feel.”
& that’s exactly the sentiment I felt after reading - once I stopped trying to understand, it was a lot easier to read.
the confusion and sense of loss the reader feels is meant to mimic the emotions of women living under colonial regimes.
It was so powerful and made me want to cry despite not understanding many parts of it. Been thinking lots about Asian American women and storytelling and tragedy and melancholia -
I.e. Iris Chang, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, so many more.
we owe everything to women fr.
& that’s exactly the sentiment I felt after reading - once I stopped trying to understand, it was a lot easier to read.
the confusion and sense of loss the reader feels is meant to mimic the emotions of women living under colonial regimes.
It was so powerful and made me want to cry despite not understanding many parts of it. Been thinking lots about Asian American women and storytelling and tragedy and melancholia -
I.e. Iris Chang, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, so many more.
we owe everything to women fr.
dinahfay's review against another edition
2.0
I'm pretty sure Hak Kyung Cha doesn't even want you to read this book. So... yep. Ok then.
its_fuct's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
loganmedrano's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and War
whetherwoman's review against another edition
5.0
Feels stupid to give a review for a work like this. It is beyond a force
towercity's review against another edition
5.0
Ok, so the review thing up there says, "What did you think?" Hold on, I'll take a picture:
See?
So what I should write in this review is what I thought of this book, right. Problem is, I don't know what to think. I was caught off guard with no clue what to think. Truly impenetrable, Dictee almost seems to be wholly against using language to communicate in the ways I'm used to. This of course is terribly disarming. I'm caught between complete confusion and a little unsettled. There is no comfort zone in this book. Yet, somehow, there is something of beauty in it. This is especially evident in the Erato Love Poetry section, which is the most normal (I think) part of the book. Images appear and fade away in ways you can't put your finger on, like in a silent movie. This is wonderful! Cha has created a mode of literature I've never seen before, and I think it works. I still don't know what to think. Maybe later I'll come back and fix this review. I don't know. Maybe the point of all this is that there is something entirely incommunicable at the center of Dictee. It cannot be explained, or reviewed. Whatever. ? stars
See?
So what I should write in this review is what I thought of this book, right. Problem is, I don't know what to think. I was caught off guard with no clue what to think. Truly impenetrable, Dictee almost seems to be wholly against using language to communicate in the ways I'm used to. This of course is terribly disarming. I'm caught between complete confusion and a little unsettled. There is no comfort zone in this book. Yet, somehow, there is something of beauty in it. This is especially evident in the Erato Love Poetry section, which is the most normal (I think) part of the book. Images appear and fade away in ways you can't put your finger on, like in a silent movie. This is wonderful! Cha has created a mode of literature I've never seen before, and I think it works. I still don't know what to think. Maybe later I'll come back and fix this review. I don't know. Maybe the point of all this is that there is something entirely incommunicable at the center of Dictee. It cannot be explained, or reviewed. Whatever. ? stars