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#BookReport 04/23

Another great week! I loved the tagged and the Franzen, and enjoyed the Dutch one. To be honest O enjoyed reading Lovesick Blossoms too but in the end I was underwhelmed.

What a lovely book. My heart aches for all characters: the narrator who takes care of a little girl while living temporarily with her Korean grandparents in Tokyo, preparing them for a return to Korea after 50 years. So much is told is so few words. And what‘s left unsaid, says even more. Thank you so much for sending this Meg, I loved it 💜💜

Low tide. Ducks paddle in the shallow water. The red boardwalks of Itsukushima Shrine flow out over the sand like a carpet of blood. At the entrance, visitors are funnelled past an orange box. A white plastic horse's head sticks out above the box, empty-eyed. I stand on my tiptoes, trying to see the rest of its body, but all I can make out in the gloom is a manger filled with coins.

These are my two reads for @nelehelen ‘s #ManseMarch over on insta (more info ⬇️), and both provided interesting looks into the Korean diaspora, particularly the experience of work and family connections. Both are strong picks.

Dusapin is a Franco-Korean author, TPP follows a young Swiss-Korean woman as she returns to her grandparents in Japan. They run a pachinko parlor, which are usually run by Korean immigrants to Japan. She desperately ⬇️

👍🏻👍🏻 on these #bookspin and #doublespin picks! People Person I picked up at a discount sale. It was a last minute addition to the list, but I‘m excited to read it! I loved Queenie.

Pachinko is what I‘m reading for #ManseMarch, which @nelehelen runs over on IG. It‘s a celebration of Korean and Korean diaspora books and culture. Check her out there as ReadWithNeleh. I read (and loved) Dusapin‘s English debut last March.

Open Letter Press sent another wonderful novel! This one delicately explores the relationship between language, home, and family. The author is herself a French-speaking Korean woman.

Elisa Shua Dusapin writes angst and displacement so well. This is her second novel after Winter in Sokcho (which I also loved) and it‘s quiet and lovely. Slice-of-life. Set in Tokyo.