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234th out of 360 books
—
295 voters
The Foreign Student: A Novel
by
Susan Choi
Highly acclaimed by critics, The Foreign Student is the story of a young Korean man, scarred by war, and the deeply troubled daughter of a wealthy Southern American family. In 1955, a new student arrives at a small college in the Tennessee mountains. Chuck is shy, speaks English haltingly, and on the subject of his earlier life in Korea he will not speak at all. Then he me...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
August 4th 1999
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1998)
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it's the tale of a Korean foreign-exchange student who arrives at the University of the South, located in Sewanee, TN shortly after the Korean War. With Sewanee being my alma mater, and with me being currently located in Korea and all, I was definitely excited about the book.
I read it very quickly, and found myself quite engrossed in the tales of the main character Chang/Chuck's survival during the Korean War. I don't know enough about the Korean War to know if the horrific details penned by Ch...more
I read it very quickly, and found myself quite engrossed in the tales of the main character Chang/Chuck's survival during the Korean War. I don't know enough about the Korean War to know if the horrific details penned by Ch...more
Before I began this book, I had read an interview with Choi where she explains that with this, her first novel, she had to not only teach herself character development, dialogue, storytelling, etc., but that to meet the artistic challenge of maintaining her own interest long enough to actually craft the novel, she took up many tricks of the trade, such as alternating time periods, points of view, etc., which is what many reviewers found confusing. Admittedly, the opening chapter was a mess. I di...more
This is one of those novels that grabs one's attention from the beginning. I liked Choi's matter-of-fact way of explaining her characters, but I also found I couldn't get overly involved with them. It didn't matter to me which man Katherine ended up with (and it was clear she *was* going to end up with A Man); I was merely curious to find out. The book pulls its reader along almost urgently for about 2/3 of the way. Then, alas, it snags on characters' inner thoughts as Choi tortures language to...more
Apr 06, 2011
YiShun
added it
i'm not going to rate this book because i just didn't finish it.
i couldn't. too many POV shifts, and too long between them. at some point i just didn't remember who was who because it had been so long between shifts.
AND with each shift the section started with a new character, a NEW point of view.
i just couldn't do it, although i badly wanted to. this is a demographic i know nothing about, from a country i'd like to know more about. maybe i'd better stick to YA and MG readers about the topic...more
i couldn't. too many POV shifts, and too long between them. at some point i just didn't remember who was who because it had been so long between shifts.
AND with each shift the section started with a new character, a NEW point of view.
i just couldn't do it, although i badly wanted to. this is a demographic i know nothing about, from a country i'd like to know more about. maybe i'd better stick to YA and MG readers about the topic...more
I was initially attracted to this book because of the title; I've studied abroad myself and thought reading about a foreign student in America (especially 50 years ago when the population, at least in Tennessee where the story is set, was more homogeneous) would be fun. It has a some redeeming qualities--most notably the character development and historic interest--but entertaining reading? Not so much.
For starters, I found it a slow read. Perhaps, as one other reviewer has mentioned, that's bec...more
For starters, I found it a slow read. Perhaps, as one other reviewer has mentioned, that's bec...more
I picked this book up because I saw the author's name and thought - hey, I went to middle school with this girl. I figured I'd give it a chance simply because we had crossed paths and shared some similar experiences. It was really good! I pretty much have no experience with any of the settings or struggles described in the book but I could still relate. It's not something I would normally have chosen to read but I appreciated it. Yea for Houston public schools! This is what they turned out.
I had never fully imagined, though I have lived there, the chaos and hell of the Korean War -- especially as told through a young Korean male who loses his family and must escape being impressed or murdered by both armies. With her brilliant writing, Choi put me completely in his point of view. The portions of the book that deal with his life at an American university in the South are also wonderful.
Jul 09, 2007
katherine brown
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone with an open mind and interests in cultural differences
I loved this book. It is uplifting and heartbreaking. The two main characters, Chang and Katherine are amazing. The beginning is long and the writing style can try one's patience, but once the book is done you realize how attached you've become to each character. Chang is a very human and understandable person. His flaws are out in the open and his quite strength is admirable. He represents so many foreigns students people see everyday and do not give a second thought because their quietness and...more
Very impressed with the readability of this first novel. Good atmosphere with just enough ao the politics of Korea in the 50s to be interesting & no t boring or dry. Toward the end I was less impressed but overall a good recent era historical with a nice interracial romance element.
A book club pick. The book was extremely slow & hard to follow. I totally lost interest about 75 pages into it. I kept thinking of other things to do, like vacumming the floor, while I was reading it. I know I need to skip a book if I'd rather do chores than actually read. Life is too short to read books you don't like.
I started this book because it was a book club pick. Almost immediately the crankiness began. Incredibly slow and disjointed. I finally admitted defeat at page 154. Not worth getting crankier at each page.
Wow. This author is really blowing me away. I am reading about things that I don't even really care about because she weaves such a fascinating web. What I started out reading lackadaisically has become an obsession, and I'm only half way through.
Jun 15, 2009
Stephanie
added it
Wonderfully written and memorable. Choi is clearly one of our finest (but unfortunately lesser known) novelists. And guess what, she lives in my neighborhood!
Choi is more of a plot writer and I typically prefer character development. The main character never really came to life for me in this one.
Chuck's view of the Korean War is so bleak. I don't know enough about history to judge, but I kept hoping it wasn't that way.
Feb 21, 2010
Alex
added it
The Foreign Student : A Novel by Susan Choi (1999)
The south will rise again... but only with the help of immigrants.
Chang (Chuck) Ahn survives the Korean war and is given a scholarship to attend the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee in the 1950's. He is haunted by his war experiences, as well as by a young woman, Katherine Monroe, who lives in Sewanee. Chang is an outsider, and suffers for this fact, while Katherine is an outcast for a different reason.
Never could finish this.
Beautifully written book that examines the culture shock of a young man arriving in the American South from Korea after the end of the Korean war. The parallels between his genteel upbringing before the war and the upbringing of a woman he meets in Tennessee after the war are interesting, as well as the examination of what happens to each, separately and together, to rip away all their childhood foundations and set them adrift to start over. I really loved this book
i am a little OCD and actually have a very hard time NOT finishing a book, even if I don't like it. This one tormented me for a few days because I really wanted to like it. The main character is an international student at my alma mater and in many ways, his story should have felt like MY story. Even still, the narrative dragged on and on, so sleepy and slow. I was physically unable to keep reading. Major disappointment.
I picked this book since I so enjoyed American Woman, but I'm finding it a slow go . . . it's not pulling me enough, but I will finish, so help me.
I made it -- I gave up and began again. Most of my slowness was my own fault, not any fault of the book. I did enjoy it and I really want to read Choi's new book once it's out in paperback
I made it -- I gave up and began again. Most of my slowness was my own fault, not any fault of the book. I did enjoy it and I really want to read Choi's new book once it's out in paperback
This book moves along slowly and seriously, but it is rich with details about the Korean War and the experience of a Korean-American boy trying to find his place in the American South during the 50's. Susan Choi's language is dense and lyrical - her sentences are a joy and often shockingly profound.
Captures a Sewanee I knew in mid-1960s. Choi's writing is so very pleasing, the novel's complexity unwinds slowly and well.
I read this book because I went to Sewanee. Great story and great imagery of my alma mater. I really enjoyed this book.
Let's just say it's no American Woman. Kind of a rom-com--I can see it making a very good movie.
Bears a certain resemblance to aspects of my own life. Very well done.
Loved it.
May 14, 2013
Veronika
added it
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Susan Choi was born in South Bend, Indiana, and raised there and in Houston, Texas. She studied literature at Yale and writing at Cornell, and worked for several years as a fact-checker for The New Yorker.
Her first novel, The Foreign Student, won the Asian-American Literary Award for fiction, and her second novel, American Woman, was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize.
With David Remnick she c...more
More about Susan Choi...
Her first novel, The Foreign Student, won the Asian-American Literary Award for fiction, and her second novel, American Woman, was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize.
With David Remnick she c...more
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