A review by saivan
Blood Sisters by Kim Yideum

challenging dark tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

A lovely portrait of various women just trying to survive the trauma of life while living in the politically and socially conservative world of 1980s Korea. It's delicately crafted, so I didn't notice while reading, but every character Yeoul meets is a well constructed, if imperfect, human. Even when they're making bad decisions it's easy to empathize. Particularly with Yeoul, who clearly faced a lot trauma through abusive parents, the abandonment of her mom, potentially some incest, and hypersexuality with various female classmates. Nothing is explicit, and it's nice to be trusted as a reader. The politics are an important backdrop, despite Yeoul's reluctance to engage. It's difficult to be apolitical with a marginalized identity, and sometimes just continuing to exist is pretty radical. 

The last line of the book has stuck with me for days now, because despite all of the exhausting trials she just experienced and the very real danger she still is in, she chooses to move.
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