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A review by wonderlake
Princess Bari by Hwang Sok-yong
dark
emotional
sad
#koreanmarch 2023
Bought this on Kindle in Feb 2021 so nice to get it ticked off. Can't remember why I bought it in particular, apart from for Korean March I guess.
The story is based on the Korean folktale/myth of Princess Bari? As such I found myself struggling at times during the narrative as to whether the Bari in our book was real or an allegory.
The first section of the book, dealing with childhood in north Korean was naturally gripping and heart-wrenching. It made me think of my 11-year old.
However when the action moved to London I found the action become a lot more melodramatic. So many misfortunes continue to befall Bari that it seemed like she was a character in Eastenders.
The 15-day section where she is grieving towards the end almost felt like a video game was being described to me, with Bari using mgical items to further her path.
Bought this on Kindle in Feb 2021 so nice to get it ticked off. Can't remember why I bought it in particular, apart from for Korean March I guess.
The story is based on the Korean folktale/myth of Princess Bari? As such I found myself struggling at times during the narrative as to whether the Bari in our book was real or an allegory.
The first section of the book, dealing with childhood in north Korean was naturally gripping and heart-wrenching. It made me think of my 11-year old.
However when the action moved to London I found the action become a lot more melodramatic. So many misfortunes continue to befall Bari that it seemed like she was a character in Eastenders.
The 15-day section where she is grieving towards the end almost felt like a video game was being described to me, with Bari using mgical items to further her path.