Jimmy Brewster

My partner and I stumbled across this book in Exile in Bookville, an independent bookshop in Chicago. As a leftist who enjoys reading international fiction, I was immediately interested.

This story tells a fictionalized version of Kang Juryong’s life in the 1920s-30s during Japan’s occupation of Korea. The novel imagines what life might have been like for an uneducated woman who was forced to marry and found herself in the middle of a liberation movement. She experiences many trials and tribulations, as well as a few fleeting moments of happiness. Eventually she becomes involved in labor organizing and the communist movement. The story explores patriarchy and intellectualism in leftist organizing. It wonders what might create tipping points where a person feels they have no choice but to get involved and take a stand for something.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys feminist fiction, international fiction, and especially to anyone who is involved in leftist movements.

I wanted to read Exodus: The Helium Sea by Peter F. Hamilton because I have heard of this author but never read anything by him before this.

This novel is the second part of a two-part book series which sets the stage for an upcoming videogame called Exodus. The story is set 40,000 years in the future. There are several factions vying for control of the empire and known galaxy. The cast of characters includes basic humans, as well as Celestials, which are decedents of the original colonizers who have physically modified themselves into immortal super beings.

This book is long. There is a glossary of characters, places, and other details which takes up nearly 100 pages before the story even starts. The bulk of the 752-page book is world building. The author does a fantastic job of creating an extremely in-depth history, economy, and political system. While reading the book, it piqued my interest in the video game.

Unfortunately, I found the plot to be straightforward and the characters were shallow. Additionally, there were so many characters and locations it was impossible to keep track of it all, even with the glossary. The perspective changes regularly and there are 6 or 7 different perspectives from which the story unfolds.

Overall, I would only recommend this to readers who really want deep world building rather than a story or if you find yourself needing more content after playing the video game.