Skinship
Ratings3
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.8
“To encounter these achingly truthful, beautiful stories of newcomer Americans is like gazing up at the starry vault of a perfect night sky; it’s immediately dazzling and impressive, and yet the closer and deeper you look, the more you appreciate the sheer countless brilliance.” —Chang-rae Lee, author of My Year Abroad
A long-married couple is forced to confront their friend’s painful past when a church revival comes to a nearby town … A woman in an arranged marriage struggles to connect with the son she hid from her husband for years … A well-meaning sister unwittingly reunites an abuser with his victims.
Through an indelible array of lives, Yoon Choi explores where first and second generations either clash or find common ground, where meaning falls in the cracks between languages, where relationships bend under the weight of tenderness and disappointment, where displacement turns to heartbreak.
Skinship is suffused with a profound understanding of humanity and offers a searing look at who the people we love truly are.
Reviews with the most likes.
This was the most Korean-American book I've ever read and an absolute stunning debut short story collection. Easily my favourite read of 2021. All killer, no filler — I can't recommend this book enough.
The entire collection is perfectly balanced. Naturally there is the singular thread focusing on Korean immigrant stories, but from a wide spectrum of voices. We have the girl heading into third grade following the aging couple working at a convenience store. The middle-aged autistic piano prodigy tells one story while a sullen teenaged Korean adoptee tells another. And while there isn't a single personal counterpart for me here on the page, they all struck an immediate and visceral chord within me. Every story feels deeply connected to my own experience.
Even more stunning is that these stories don't centre whiteness the way traditional immigrant narratives tend to. The Koreans here aren't outsiders looking in, there's no smelly lunchbox story. The collection doesn't set out to highlight tensions these characters might feel in their newly adopted land when thrown against a predominantly black and white backdrop. It's Koreans talking about Koreans and centering their own deeply personal experiences. I am screaming.
You don't have to be a second generation Korean to enjoy this book (though it doesn't hurt). The writing is just stellar and this is a jaw-dropping debut from an author I can't wait to see more from.
