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A review by thesimplelibrary
Ten Thousand Sorrows : The Extraordinary Journey of a Korean War Orphan by Elizabeth Kim
3.0
Elizabeth Kim writes her memoir of a Korean orphan in a poetic, yet accessible way. From her earliest memories as an illegitimate child of a Korean peasant and American GI, to her childhood as an adopted child of two fundamentalist Christians and her account of struggles as a single mother, Kim meticulously captures her feelings of loneliness and abandonment.
The inclusion of her own poetry is a wonderful extension to the harrowing atmosphere, as are the written observations from Leigh, her own daughter. Elizabeth Kim has powers of observation and introspection, and a good understanding of her heritage and the implications it has brought her.
A trauma memoir, a category which, i.a., this autobiography falls under, is never an easy read, and "Ten Thousand Sorrows" is no exception to the case. It is an emotional tale that covers themes of survival, violence, abuse, and healing, and it is not recommended for the faint-hearted among us.
The reason for giving a 3 star rating is my own dislike of her repetitive thoughts. I felt that each chapter ended in the same, rather pessimistic tone, something similar to what Kim tells us in chapter fifteen : "everything we have vanishes someday. If love were to arrive, the knowledge that someday it would leave would be devastating". This tone is partly set of course because of Kim's inability to heal throughout the majority of the book, as her healing process only seems to starts and end in the few last chapters.
Nonetheless, it is a highly interesting and good read, and recommended to those who are interested in immigrant and trauma memoir.
The inclusion of her own poetry is a wonderful extension to the harrowing atmosphere, as are the written observations from Leigh, her own daughter. Elizabeth Kim has powers of observation and introspection, and a good understanding of her heritage and the implications it has brought her.
A trauma memoir, a category which, i.a., this autobiography falls under, is never an easy read, and "Ten Thousand Sorrows" is no exception to the case. It is an emotional tale that covers themes of survival, violence, abuse, and healing, and it is not recommended for the faint-hearted among us.
The reason for giving a 3 star rating is my own dislike of her repetitive thoughts. I felt that each chapter ended in the same, rather pessimistic tone, something similar to what Kim tells us in chapter fifteen : "everything we have vanishes someday. If love were to arrive, the knowledge that someday it would leave would be devastating". This tone is partly set of course because of Kim's inability to heal throughout the majority of the book, as her healing process only seems to starts and end in the few last chapters.
Nonetheless, it is a highly interesting and good read, and recommended to those who are interested in immigrant and trauma memoir.