A review by maureenmcc
On Such a Full Sea, by Chang-rae Lee

3.0

I really looked forward to reading this book because I love Chang-rae Lee's other works, especially Native Speaker. Despite this being a different genre for him, his elegant and muted style comes through, with some very descriptive and beautiful passages throughout. However, I really didn't feel engaged by the heroine, who is more symbolic than anything. The narrator basically interprets how the collective community she leaves behind projects their fears and hopes onto her. The dystopian world he describes seems like it could be five or ten years from now -- nothing very new or surprising. The story is really more of a fable about fate, freedom and fidelity. A complex, interesting work, but one that I ultimately found unsatisfying.