Everything Belongs to Us
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15
Ratings3
Average rating3
"This debut novel takes place at the elite Seoul National University in 1970s South Korea during the final years of a repressive regime. The novel follows the fates of two women--Jisun, the daughter of a powerful tycoon, who eschews her privilege to become an underground labor activist in Seoul; and Namin, her best friend from childhood, a brilliant, tireless girl who has grown up with nothing, and whose singular goal is to launch herself and her family out of poverty. Drawn to both of these women is Sunam, a seeming social-climber who is at heart a lost boy struggling to find his place in a cutthroat world. And at the edges of their friendship is Junho, whose ambitions have taken him to new heights in the university's most prestigious social club, called "the circle," and yet who guards a dangerous secret that is tied to his status. Wuertz explores the relationships that bind these students to each other, as well as the private anxieties and desires that drive them to succeed" --
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2.5 stars = it was just okay. I had high hopes for this book but everything from the plot to the characters felt flimsy to me.
On the surface it's a typical university story. Namin comes from a poor family that have scraped and sacrificed so that she can have a chance at success. Namin is singularly focused on overachieving on the expectations set upon her. Jisun comes from unimaginable wealth and privilege. Naturally she hates everything it represents, protests for workers, and adopts an earnest activist stance. Sunam is the dumb-ass boy caught in the middle, still a little slack jawed at the opportunities he's been afforded and determined not to blow it. You know he's going to blow it.
Plainly told with little in the way of flourishes what struck me was what is at stake. Seoul National is a top 3 university pick. Only 2% of the student population make it after years of rigorous study. 10 hour school days through high school and countless hours at private institutions well into the evening. Weekends are non-existent for anything other than study, private tutoring and library visits. Students give over their entire lives for the sake of a single entrance exam that determines their university placement. They carry the expectations of their entire family. The sense of discovery, pushing the boundaries of self, rebelling against authority, reinvention and aspirations aren't things explored in high school like they are here. No one cares what you hope for - your life is given over to be the most efficient test taking machine possible.
In university, for the first time in their life the student is able to define who they are as a person. But the stakes are so much higher now. It's different than not being invited to the cool kids party or finding a date to the prom.
Wuertz isn't examining any of that in the story, it's just sitting at the back of my head and raising the stakes for me. I'm bringing my own context to the story that makes it all the more raw and devastating. Read from a Western context it may not carry the same weight.
