Most helpful customer reviews
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Some first-novel flaws -- but worth a read, Jul 8 2004
By A Customer
While this novel has a lot to recommend, I felt that the two storylines (Katherine's and Chang's) didn't fit together cohesively. As one other reviewer noted, I didn't feel that there was a strong enough or believable enough reason why these two people would be so deeply attracted to each other. Thus their coming together seemed like simply a plot contrivance -- as though Choi had two really interesting storylines on different subjects that she was developing separately, but didn't have enough on each to sustain a full novel, so she awkwardly tied them together. Yes, both Chang and Katherine are outcasts, in a way, but that just wasn't enough -- particularly as Chang's story becomes increasingly grim. I could see how Katherine's attraction to Chang might have stemmed from her character (Choi makes a point of saying, in one section, that Katherine feels like love should be completely illogical, that she should fall in love with someone that no one else would approve of or understand), but I couldn't see how Chang's relationship with Katherine connected with his previous, horrifying experiences in the war, except on a superficial level. What does he need from Katherine? His life has been about guilt and betrayal; is Choi trying to stretch the point that in embracing Katherine, he is finally embracing his guilt? It's certainly possible to think up similar kinds of connections and themes, but they seemed flimsy and forced to me.Finally, I found the writing somewhat tedious at times (even while it was intelligent and lucid throughout). The somewhat journalistic passages about the Korean War didn't bother me as much as it seems to have bothered other reviewers (in fact, I found them helpful and informative); rather, it was the long passages of exposition, wherein a character would ponder his/her thoughts and feelings in depth, that I found unnecessarily slow and overwritten. Despite all this (overly long, I'll admit) criticism, I believe that many readers will find this book a worthwhile read. Choi writes with intelligence and a strong sense of character; I have no doubt that more fine books will come from her.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
good if uneven writing, Mar 29 2003
By A Customer
Susan Choi writes well. But alas, she doesn't know much about Korea. I quickly noticed this as I am from Korea. I think that's the most glaring flaw of this book--the war part in Korea is written so woodenly, it's almost painful to read. I could see that Choi wrote down the mere facts from what she dug up from her research. And also it goes on too long without giving the reader a clear picutre or map of the situation in general, so it was all so very vuague to me. The best character in this book was Edison. The relationship between him and Katherine is very well depicted. In fact, come to think of it, it was almost like reading two books in one. If Choi sticks to the world she knows mor intimately, which seems to me western rather than eastern, American rather than Korean, she would produce something wonderful with her talent.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Novel That Stops Time, May 11 2002
I usually dislike reading KA fiction because it gets irritating when authors write about Korea but describe the country with skewed, distorted myths about it's culture and history and auto-Orientalist themes that cater to the mainstream.Not so with this novel. I found myself completely lost in the story, not even caring about the "authenticity" issue because Choi does what all great writers do: she re-imagines and re-creates a palpable "real" universe that stops time. The fictional world transcends almost everything else I've read by Korean Americans, making you believe the characters, the location, the feelings. In short, it is a beautifully written novel and my personal favorite of all the Asian American novels I've read. That having been said, I am happy to attest that Choi does indeed write about the truth of the Korean War that goes against the conventional American myths about this unknown conflict. Choi does not hesitate to go into little known aspects of the war such as S. Korean President Syngman Rhee's execution of political prisoners and the Cheju/Yosu rebellions which took 100,000 lives even before the Korean War erupted in June 1950. Moreover, Choi depicts the Orientalist, racist experiences for Chang, a foreigner in America's South, and subtly links it to America's damaging foreign policies that warped Korea. She even resurrects a devastatingly convincing portrait of Gen. Hodge, the commander of the US military government in S. Korea--you can practically hear him breathing and speaking. This novel is startling in its audacity to depict America's occluded responsibility for the war that probably even challenges what most Koreans over 50 believe. As a former fact-checker for the New Yorker magazine, I suspect that she used her skills to do meticulous research into the origins of the Korean War. Having lived in Korea (and in Chicago, where her description of Clark and Belmont is right on) I am surpised by her accuracy and the "truth" of her details. I've read an article where Choi downplays the "authenticity" issue of her novel, and emphasizes that it is fiction. She's right, of course, but I am simply delighted that she has rendered a beautiful story that will not only impress the common reader, but satisfy those familiar with Korean history. Her research only heightens the pleasure of reading this gem of a novel.
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