Cross-cultural fiction at its finest: a kid's chapter book about a young Korean girl who discovers Astrid Lindgren's books. They help her make sense of her life (her father is dead; her mother is sad, poor and has a short fuse), work through her emotions and relate to others. Maybe a bit too edifying for me, but I'm sure the child who connects with this book won't mind. I liked the sense of place and season.
#Korea
“As if trying her best to mend a broken friendship from her childhood, she immersed herself into the books, day and night, never leaving their side.”
#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl
“An old woman sits on the beach, a cushion strapped to her bottom, sorting algae that‘s washed ashore.”
My 1st book from this year's #NobelPrize winner. I was impressed by the first half, but disappointed that the narrator's quiet & moving story was pushed aside for almost straight non-fiction, admittedly also moving, and about events in #Korea's history that needed telling. So the fiction ended up being an artificial framing device for near-journalistic work. I was happy to read it all & learned a lot, but with a slight sense of frustration 😊
