A review by paulataua
Pavane for a Dead Princess by Amber Hyun Jung Kim, Min-gyu Park

3.0

You have to root for any novel that addresses modern society’s obsession with beauty , wealth, and status, but this tale of a handsome young man’s relationship with a much less than beautiful woman just doesn’t quite hit the target. There are three strands in the novel. The first, dealing with the relationship, is the most successful, especially in the first wonderful chapter. This strand suffers a little later from the problem the author seems to have between objective and subjective ‘beauty’ or more relevantly ‘ugliness’, so it never sustains the sincerity felt in that first chapter. The second strand deals with the wealth and status aspect, a strand which is a little too much exposed by in your face examples of people screaming because they can’t park where they want or having outbursts over rules being applied to them. The third strand is found in the man’s friend, who adds both the humor and many of the inspirational thoughts. Unfortunately, the inspirational thoughts in the book are most often less than inspirational .

"What defines a successful life? A successful life is one in which more time is spent loving someone than is spent sitting on the toilet".

Despite the above comments, the novel is readable and has its moments, and on one level is a welcome critique of modern Korean society, and of course, of our own. I just kept thinking it could have been so much better. I wonder if any other reviewers got the feeling that there is a Murakami influence somewhere in both the style and structure. Let me know.