A review by katherineharnisch
O Beautiful by Jung Yun

emotional informative reflective medium-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

5.0

 

When I was growing up in the northwest corner of Minnesota, I would hear people talk about the oil fields in North Dakota with three main themes: 1) you could make a lot of money by working in the fields, 2) it was dangerous to work in the fields, and 3) there were strippers working in the towns that dotted the oil field territory (this last one was usually said by my mother with a sneer of disgust). This book touches on all three of those perceptions, filling in the gaps left after hearing these small bits of biased information as a teenager. 

 

Though a novel about the oil fields, O Beautiful touched on a plethora of important topics including (but not limited to) race, sexual harassment, broken families, toxic and inappropriate student/teacher relationships, Native American reservations, and white nationalism. Though that sounds a bit exhausting for one book, it is all written so smoothly that each of these topics comes and goes naturally. 

 

This may be because of my own complicated relationship with the rural upper Midwest of the US, but I saw so much of myself in the main character Elinor. I understood well her feelings returning to North Dakota: somewhat a homecoming, very much a heartbreak. The other characters in this book and the way they interacted with Elinor were so believable for the setting. From the staff at the hotel to the woman with a drill on her land, the personalities were captured so well for the upper Midwest and more specifically, the Bakken. 

 

Honestly this book kind of crushed my heart a little bit lol. Some light emotional damage, but well worth reading for sure. I initially picked this book up because it was in the nonfiction section and I thought it would be a journalistic take on the oil fields of North Dakota. Though it is fiction, every single thing in this book is believable to true life. Highly recommend.