YJ

absolutely beautiful

Revisado: 10-20-23

Captivating story with dynamic characters and relationships that feel so real. The historical context adds to everything without getting tiring or dry. Not that a comparison is needed, but for fans of somewhat similar novels - I loved this book more than Pachinko and more than Memoirs of a Geisha. I see some other reviews complaining about getting confused about the different names but that's an unfair comment. The author chose to give some characters names that are easy to remember for English-only speakers like Silver, Jade, Luna, etc and other Korean and Japanese names of notable characters are distinct enough from each other in sound and personality/context. Beautiful narrative that moved me deeply. Will be looking forward to seeing it on the screen!

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Interesting story, performance not great.

Revisado: 05-02-23

I could hear the saliva build up in the male voice for about half the time. He also incorrectly pronounced most of the non-english words & names. I know the market out there is tough but audiobook producers really need to make sure their performers put effort into looking up or asking about how to say these things. He was wrong so many times that it was clear to me that it's not that he couldn't have pronounced the syllables but rather that he didn't look them up.

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Had potential but problematic points, self-deluded

Revisado: 08-26-21

This novel seemed like a fun summer read with a interesting premise. I was drawn by the vignettes of life spanning decades. In the second half of the novel, Elle is less and less likable, not because of her mistakes, past trauma, and humanity (those are very engaging), but because of her entitlement in petty moments with minor characters and her self-delusion. Jonas could have been more developed for us as well. The world and language of the novel is beautiful. There are problematic moments in racist microaggressions with regard to "unrecognizable" foods at dim sum, a half-Asian half-white baby as a punch line, and a couple other moments. Would the author use another racial group in the same way she uses Asianness? Interesting and engaging family dynamics throughout the story.

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Wonderful novel

Revisado: 02-17-21

Truly profound work. Posed deep questions about art and race in a manner more effective than most works I've read recently, questioning rather than asserting through differing views of major and minor characters. Thoughtful study of friendship, ambition, striving, and life. Incredibly real to my own experience. The performance was not bad overall but performer really should have practiced and executed the correct pronunciation of many non-English words (even city names) more thoroughly.

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Really enjoyed it

Revisado: 09-18-20

Wonderful intersection of art, life, love, relationships and the nuances of each. Might not be for everyone but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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highly recommend

Revisado: 04-08-20

Honest, unafraid, vital, beautiful. Thank you, Cathy Park Hong for writing this book. The balance of history and memoir is profoundly impactful

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esto le resultó útil a 15 personas