back to bookblogging!
Mar. 29th, 2011 01:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glass_icarusSome more belated notes! I definitely recommend all three of these, though they all have some potentially triggering moments (two of them deal with WWII).
1. The Interpreter- Suki Kim:
This one is a stunner! Suzy Park is a Korean-American interpreter in New York City, hiding away from her past and her problems. When one of her court-deposition jobs turns up unexpected information about the murder of her parents, Suzy goes looking for answers and unravels some ugly family secrets in the process.
Upon rereading the book, there really is too much for me to talk about with regard to immigration, diaspora, race, and class, so I will just say that the complexities of Suzy's perspective/situation, her sister's, her parents', and the reflections of various aspects of the Korean immigrant community are all SUPREMELY satisfying to see. Also, I loved the exploration of the weight of Suzy's (and her sister's) position as interpreter, and the shades of gray between language and truth, legality and survival. In many ways, this novel is a story about survival: about immigrants trying to navigate their way toward a living, a better life, a decent family, a coherent identity, and about getting lost along the way.
A few content notes: Suzy has affairs with married men and is ostracized for doing so, though I never once felt that the book demonized her choices (or the wives, for that matter). Also, Suzy's self-esteem issues are fairly palpable. There is some domestic violence depicted. At times, Kim's portrayal of certain assimilation mentalities/narratives made me flinch, though that was mostly recognition and familiarity.
2. The Calligrapher's Daughter- Eugenia Kim:
Lovely, intricate tale of a Korean yangban family at the beginning of the 20th century, which traces their lives throughout the Japanese occupation of Korea, from the fall of the Joseon dynasty to World War II. I found the book's portrayal of Christian faith, Confucian values, and Korean tradition very illuminating; the amount of detail is both overwhelming and unobtrusive. *____* (Also, I really enjoyed reading historical contexts/perspectives from this period that did not at all revolve around the United States, just saying.) Er, the rest of my thoughts can basically be summarized by MASSIVE FLAIL, so I will refrain from further remarks!
3. When the Emperor Was Divine- Julie Otsuka:
This was gorgeous, but an incredibly stark read. The book follows the perspectives of four members of a Japanese-American family before, during, and after their internment in the 1940s. None of the characters are named, which is a writing decision that I think would bother me in many other contexts. In fact, there is a certain power in the lack of naming: because the reader never gets to know the specifics of who is speaking, the testimony could stand for any member of the Japanese-American community. The entire novel is quietly militant, but the last section in particular is an explicitly searing indictment of the actions of the US government and the assumptions of the USian majority.
1. The Interpreter- Suki Kim:
This one is a stunner! Suzy Park is a Korean-American interpreter in New York City, hiding away from her past and her problems. When one of her court-deposition jobs turns up unexpected information about the murder of her parents, Suzy goes looking for answers and unravels some ugly family secrets in the process.
Upon rereading the book, there really is too much for me to talk about with regard to immigration, diaspora, race, and class, so I will just say that the complexities of Suzy's perspective/situation, her sister's, her parents', and the reflections of various aspects of the Korean immigrant community are all SUPREMELY satisfying to see. Also, I loved the exploration of the weight of Suzy's (and her sister's) position as interpreter, and the shades of gray between language and truth, legality and survival. In many ways, this novel is a story about survival: about immigrants trying to navigate their way toward a living, a better life, a decent family, a coherent identity, and about getting lost along the way.
A few content notes: Suzy has affairs with married men and is ostracized for doing so, though I never once felt that the book demonized her choices (or the wives, for that matter). Also, Suzy's self-esteem issues are fairly palpable. There is some domestic violence depicted. At times, Kim's portrayal of certain assimilation mentalities/narratives made me flinch, though that was mostly recognition and familiarity.
2. The Calligrapher's Daughter- Eugenia Kim:
Lovely, intricate tale of a Korean yangban family at the beginning of the 20th century, which traces their lives throughout the Japanese occupation of Korea, from the fall of the Joseon dynasty to World War II. I found the book's portrayal of Christian faith, Confucian values, and Korean tradition very illuminating; the amount of detail is both overwhelming and unobtrusive. *____* (Also, I really enjoyed reading historical contexts/perspectives from this period that did not at all revolve around the United States, just saying.) Er, the rest of my thoughts can basically be summarized by MASSIVE FLAIL, so I will refrain from further remarks!
3. When the Emperor Was Divine- Julie Otsuka:
This was gorgeous, but an incredibly stark read. The book follows the perspectives of four members of a Japanese-American family before, during, and after their internment in the 1940s. None of the characters are named, which is a writing decision that I think would bother me in many other contexts. In fact, there is a certain power in the lack of naming: because the reader never gets to know the specifics of who is speaking, the testimony could stand for any member of the Japanese-American community. The entire novel is quietly militant, but the last section in particular is an explicitly searing indictment of the actions of the US government and the assumptions of the USian majority.
