Hannah

I would've never expected a coming of age story about fifth graders to be filled with so many truths about the joys and hardships of living - of friendships, character, love, and loss. That it's more meaningful to be someone who ‘carries up hearts' than to be “cool.” Adults need reminding of this often, too.

Was mildly entertaining and I appreciated the originality of the characters/setting. Interesting vignettes - a post-apocalypse traveling symphony, a beautifully awkward artist who spends her waking hours drawing comics, etc. For me, it felt like a lot of words to tell a story without a purpose. I saw potential threads peeking through as I progressed - the paperweight, the comics, the dogs name (Luli)… and was anticipating a grand unfolding of how all the characters’ lives and fates had once been and was intertwined, some weighty connection between the characters that would tie together all the vignettes. There was no such grand reveal. To me, each and every character and plot point fell flat - even though many of the characters were so intricately thought out on an individual basis - I was so disappointed. The only thread between the portraits of the characters was an extremely weak and one dimensional link to a single (truthfully not very interesting) man. The comic just happened to make its way to Kirsten, for no apparent reason. The paperweight handed to her, with no greater meaning. The prophet just killed for reasons unknown but that the boy was crying. This book was said to be emotionally riveting, thought provoking - none of that reached me. I think my disappointment is greater because of the expectations.

Sometimes the translation felt off...but I enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. As the book describes the layers of gender inequality built into Korean culture by narrating Kim Jiyoung's life, it so accurately illustrates the questions (and micro/macro aggressions) many women face. The book definitely opened my eyes to small grievances that went unnoticed in my life - things I just accepted “were the way they were” - but wished I hadn't. Wouldn't say the book is inspiring; it almost felt defeatist.

The more I think about it though, maybe thr ‘defeatist' tone is what the author intended. It evokes a sense of ‘things need to change.'