so-soFrom his mid/late 30s Young looks back on his relationships as a young-ish gay man in Seoul.
Rather rambling narrative that frequently left me waiting for something to happen but even when it did, it didn't make much impact and was referred to so obliquely that it took me a while to realise what he meant.
No idea why it was longlisted for the International Booker.
"I took the elevator to the third floor of the hotel and went into the Emerald Hall."
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
pickYeong-hye stops eating meat and her story is told through the eyes of her husband, brother in law and sister (no spoiler). I can‘t say more yet digesting but I was surprised shocked moved…
“As for children, every woman knows the fears and sorrows. Joy is a delicious luxury that we experience most cautiously, for tragedy conceals itself around every corner.”
#CoverStories #Sea
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
panI can‘t lie - I didn‘t get it. I started in print and ended in audio. Both formats were a miss for me, but the audio was slightly better.
so-soA strange little novel about resisting dominant social structures through a female protagonist who decides to stop eating meat and gradually
"devolves" further until she eventually wastes away, wishing to return to the earth as a tree. Graphic, violent descriptions, visually evocative. But overall didn‘t land as powerfully for me, perhaps something to do with the translation or because it leans toward fantastical which I typically don‘t enjoy.
pickInteresting book of living a life vicariously after a sibling‘s death. This exploration of feelings & reflections is taken even further when adding thoughts/ideas only related to the color white. Loved it‘s uniqueness.
pickOne of the earlier works of Han Kang, and I'm not sure if there's already an English translation. The German title can be translated as: Your Cold Hands
This story is filled with symbolism, at least to me it felt like that. And I'm glad I didn't read this book earlier in my life, because it deals with eating disorders and assaults. So trigger warnings for this. Kang shows us how superficial society can be and how that destroys us in many ways.
