An erotically charged, elegantly written novel that marks the first publication in English of author Kyung-Ran Jo, a literary star in Ko...
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Jun 06, 2011
Nancy
rated it: 
2.5 stars
I really wanted to love Tongue. It’s a relatively short book at only 212 pages, but it wasn’t one of those books I could easily read in one or two sittings. There just wasn’t enough there to really draw me in and engage my emotions. Tongue is about a young chef whose boyfriend of 7 years leaves her for another woman. She loses her desire to cook, to eat, and even her sense of taste. Gradually, she starts to put her life back together and returns to the Italian restaurant More...
I really wanted to love Tongue. It’s a relatively short book at only 212 pages, but it wasn’t one of those books I could easily read in one or two sittings. There just wasn’t enough there to really draw me in and engage my emotions. Tongue is about a young chef whose boyfriend of 7 years leaves her for another woman. She loses her desire to cook, to eat, and even her sense of taste. Gradually, she starts to put her life back together and returns to the Italian restaurant More...
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Jun 09, 2009
Eris_discordia
rated it: 
I won Tongue in LibraryThing's Early Reviewers giveaway, and so I review it:
Tongue is the story of K, a fine-dining chef, learning to live alone after finding her husband, architect Han Seok-jo, cheating on her with her cooking-class student and former model Se-yeon. It is full of the pain that such a betrayal can bring. K's loneliness is palpable, expressed mainly in the loss of her sense of taste--the first sense to go in those who have lost the will to live, she points out, and a More...
Tongue is the story of K, a fine-dining chef, learning to live alone after finding her husband, architect Han Seok-jo, cheating on her with her cooking-class student and former model Se-yeon. It is full of the pain that such a betrayal can bring. K's loneliness is palpable, expressed mainly in the loss of her sense of taste--the first sense to go in those who have lost the will to live, she points out, and a More...
Aug 04, 2010
Nafiza
rated it: 
I read it and had to leave it for a while so I could linger over what I had read. I had to give my brain time to process and understand what exactly it was that I had ingested. To digest, so to speak. Excuse the layered pun. Anyway, I know that the author has been accused of plagiarizing the book but since I don’t know much about the issue, I will review the work simply based on what I read and indeed, how I felt about it. Tongue, I might say, is a work of genius. I say this almost unwillingly b
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Sep 24, 2009
Andrea
rated it:
I feel a bit intellectually lazy comparing this novel to the (excellent) movie “Tampopo” (They both have food! Both take place on the continent of Asia!), but the descriptions of food and its preparation; the switching between the sensuous and the methodical reminded me nothing so much of that film (which, admittedly, I saw for the first time just this year). Both film and book deal with two sides of the same coin: the preparation of food; the love and effort that goes into the creation of a d
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Jun 27, 2009
Jennie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 09, 2010
Anne
rated it:
Tongue tells the story of a young chef who has just been abandoned by her long-time boyfriend by a beautiful model. As she fights off her depression and longing, she returns to the world of cooking. There are times when she pines for the ex, recalling the first time she herself met the model, and discovered the nature of her boyfriend's deception. But, most of the time it is a seemingly normal getting-over it and moving on story. Until it takes the did-that-just-happen? twist. I admit I had to g
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Jun 23, 2009
Susan
rated it:
I was fortunate enough to have won an advanced copy of this book, and at first glance, it was intriguing. When reading the back of the book (which is how most people determine what to pick up to read) it talked of a woman scorned who turns to food in a variety of ways. To me, it sounded familiar, but I was ready to dive in.
First of all, if you the reader has recently been dumped from a long term relationship, you might want to think twice before picking this up, because the main fe More...
First of all, if you the reader has recently been dumped from a long term relationship, you might want to think twice before picking this up, because the main fe More...
Jun 23, 2009
Matthew
rated it:
While well-crafted, I was a little disappointed in Tongue: A Novel. The story centers around the protagonist's passion for food and a lost love, yet the passion seems to be absent. It is too cerebral, and Jo doesn't provide enough depth to the history of the protagonist's love affair or love of food for me to feel connected or sympathetic.
It seems to me that Jo has attempted to persuade the reader that the protagonist has been driven mad by lost love, but the effect is actually to ma More...
It seems to me that Jo has attempted to persuade the reader that the protagonist has been driven mad by lost love, but the effect is actually to ma More...
Jul 09, 2009
Suzanne
rated it:
First I’ll say that the title of this book put me off a little. Don’t know exactly why—I must not be a fan of tongues. After finishing the book, I see now that the title is appropriate. Tongue follows the life of a woman, Jung Ji-won, for seven months after her lover leaves her for another woman. Won is a chef who had had a successful business giving cooking lessons in her home, but after her lover moves out, she goes back to working in a respected Italian restaurant.
I have always en
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Aug 05, 2009
Kim
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 31, 2009
Jodie
rated it:
I wish I could give this book 1.5 stars instead of a full 2. I guess I don't really understand why this book was an instant bestseller in South Korea. I would describe the main character as completely detached and numb- even before she is in depression, grieving the lose of her 7 year romantic relationship. The book jacket mentions the main characters "food-centric" worldview - I would extend that to include ridiculous, unrelated and unrelatable food-centric worldview.
My f More...
My f More...
Jul 21, 2009
Alexis
rated it:
Tongue is the story of a young gourmet chef whose seven-year relationship suddenly comes to an end. She slowly returns to the kitchen to begin the process of putting her life back together again.
The only thing I have to complain about is the ending. Strikingly ill-fitting, yet surprisingly predictable, the conclusion of this story of heartbreak, passion, and the sensuality of food left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
I relished the way the author used culinary terms More...
The only thing I have to complain about is the ending. Strikingly ill-fitting, yet surprisingly predictable, the conclusion of this story of heartbreak, passion, and the sensuality of food left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
I relished the way the author used culinary terms More...
Oct 08, 2009
Liz
rated it:
I got this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
I found this book to be very visceral with its food centric, which was fun to read sometimes and too intense other times. The biggest problem I had with the book was the overall flow of the content. I suppose I like flashbacks to be stated a bit more obvious. Or the fact that some events seemed fragmented and vague so I had to read the pages over again to make some connection with what was going on. Or that some things are never made apparent, More...
I found this book to be very visceral with its food centric, which was fun to read sometimes and too intense other times. The biggest problem I had with the book was the overall flow of the content. I suppose I like flashbacks to be stated a bit more obvious. Or the fact that some events seemed fragmented and vague so I had to read the pages over again to make some connection with what was going on. Or that some things are never made apparent, More...
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Jul 14, 2009
Erik
rated it:
Full disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book through Goodreads.
Tongue marks the first time Korean author Kyung-Ran Jo has been published in the English language (translated, to be more precise). The book tells the story of a cook who is grappling with life-after-boyfriend. Food is featured prominently in her process; I found the parallels between cooking and love/life/happiness/misery fascinating, and I confess to a bit of embarrassing drooling as I worked through More...
Tongue marks the first time Korean author Kyung-Ran Jo has been published in the English language (translated, to be more precise). The book tells the story of a cook who is grappling with life-after-boyfriend. Food is featured prominently in her process; I found the parallels between cooking and love/life/happiness/misery fascinating, and I confess to a bit of embarrassing drooling as I worked through More...
Jun 09, 2009
Vera
rated it: 
I won Tongue in the Goodreads giveaway:
LOVED it!
I am a huge fan of Haruki Murakami and this book is definitely in the same writing class; unsettling and raw. Kyung-ran Jo does a remarkable job explaining emotions and feelings through food. As I was reading this book, I was able to visualize the emotions that food could emit. I do not think I would be able to look at food the same way without hearing passages from Tongue running through my mind.
The only negat More...
LOVED it!
I am a huge fan of Haruki Murakami and this book is definitely in the same writing class; unsettling and raw. Kyung-ran Jo does a remarkable job explaining emotions and feelings through food. As I was reading this book, I was able to visualize the emotions that food could emit. I do not think I would be able to look at food the same way without hearing passages from Tongue running through my mind.
The only negat More...
Jun 30, 2009
Karen
rated it:
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. That means that I started the book with a truly positive attitude, and I really, really wanted to like it... BUT...
I just did not like this book. It was a bestseller in Korea two years ago and has just been translated into English for the first time. The basic plot is a Korean, female chef at an Italian restaurant in Korea whose live-in boyfriend has an affair and dumps her. She is obsessed with him, goes a bit insane, redefines her life More...
I just did not like this book. It was a bestseller in Korea two years ago and has just been translated into English for the first time. The basic plot is a Korean, female chef at an Italian restaurant in Korea whose live-in boyfriend has an affair and dumps her. She is obsessed with him, goes a bit insane, redefines her life More...
Dec 14, 2009
Doreen
rated it:
Despite the author's eloquence and skill (or perhaps because of,) reading this book felt very much like watching an Asian horror movie. Each scene was described vividly, and intercut with other scenes neatly. The food and cooking scenes are described with love; in fact, each scene has a distinct mood that can be described by an actual taste on the tongue. So for that, kudos to Ms Jo.
But that ending was clear from a mile away. Anyone with more than a passing familiarity with Greek myt More...
But that ending was clear from a mile away. Anyone with more than a passing familiarity with Greek myt More...
Oct 27, 2009
Jenny
rated it:
I got this book as a free giveaway from goodreads, but honestly I probably would have bought it anyway. It's not like anything I've ever read. The writing style is unique in its subtlety and that lends an eerie quality to the violence that takes place. At first, I found myself thinking the narrator should take a long hard look at herself and just get over her loss - and then there's a scene with the dog and from that moment on, I was right there with her 100%.
And then there's th More...
And then there's th More...
Jun 07, 2011
Caroline
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 03, 2011
Kat
rated it:
I'm somewhere between a 2 and 3 with this book. It was a pretty easy read and I liked the progression of the story and how the the chapters were sort of disjointed. I did not like the progression of the main character, mainly because I don't really think there was much of one. I also didn't like all the food metaphors, I know it's a book about a chef, but still not everything had to be compared to food, or the kitchen.
Jul 22, 2009
Traci
rated it:
This is a very graphic, erotic book, not for the kiddies. It is relatively short, but tells the story of a scorned woman and her despair. The author does a good job entwining different food aspects into the story to relate to the woman and what she is going through. There were a few odd places, maybe where something got lost in the translation. All in all, I would recommend this book.
Jul 05, 2010
Beth
rated it:
I enjoyed the way she wrote about food and the sensual counterparts of emotion. Not entirely unpredictable, but enjoyable. I'd recommend it to anyone recently heartbroken. I do wish some of the backstory was more fleshed out, though - like what happened to her parers? Why was her boyfriend in a coma? But it did feel like it was about the right length for the type of book it is, so maybe those were necessary cuts.
Nov 15, 2011
I've been desperately trying to find novels written by or about Koreans, and on Sunday I came across this on Amazon. When I saw it was only $1.89, I had to buy it. Now, just two days later I have it in my hot little hands.
Amazon, I love you.
Amazon, I love you.
Jul 10, 2009
Tze-Wen
rated it:
I had high expectations of this book, but I feel not all of them have been met. Tongue was at times a very emotional rollercoaster (as we follow her quite closely on her road through heartbreak), but at the same time there wasn't as much character development as I had hoped for. Still, I would love more books by this author to be translated into English. Her writing style keeps you going on, page by page.
Feb 01, 2012
Ik ben benieuwd. Heb dit voor Kerst gekregen, wel in de Nederlandse vertaling. Op de cover "Jo Kyung-ran doet me denken an Haruki Murakami op z'n best - New York Magazine".
Momenteel na 1 leessessie op pagina 75, het leest vlot en het is super om 2 passies te combineren: lezen & koken!
Momenteel na 1 leessessie op pagina 75, het leest vlot en het is super om 2 passies te combineren: lezen & koken!
Dec 24, 2009
Tjibbe
rated it:
A book from south-Korea about food, love and revenge. You cannot go wrong. That's what I thought anyway when I read the back cover in the book store. And on the front cover the author is even compared to Maruki Murakami (God).
So I started reading expecting a nicely-written book with likable characters entangled in a love story ending in a bloody revenge. How wrong was I! The characters have no depth at all and the story is boring to say the least. I understand this book is about a chef and More...
So I started reading expecting a nicely-written book with likable characters entangled in a love story ending in a bloody revenge. How wrong was I! The characters have no depth at all and the story is boring to say the least. I understand this book is about a chef and More...
Jun 26, 2009
Rosanne
rated it:
Delicious, sensual, vivid and shocking is how I would describe this book. The interplay between food and emotion was amazing. I think it would make a great movie!
The main character comes across as weak at first so I didn't see what was coming in the end.
The main character comes across as weak at first so I didn't see what was coming in the end.
Jun 15, 2009
Alex
rated it:
This book was very emotionally evocative. My favorite part was the first phone call the main character received from Seok-ju. What I first took to be a kind of Oprah's Book Club thing actually turned out to be really interesting... I couldn't put it down.
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Jul 09, 2009
Kathy
rated it:
This book improves when given time to simmer.
The style is a little disjointed, which is appropriate considering the state of the character telling the story. After you put the story down, and let all the pieces come together, you're left with a broken love that's turned to obsession. The effects this has on all parties involved is predictable, but hearing it from the point of view from the character that has been broken is interesting.
The style is a little disjointed, which is appropriate considering the state of the character telling the story. After you put the story down, and let all the pieces come together, you're left with a broken love that's turned to obsession. The effects this has on all parties involved is predictable, but hearing it from the point of view from the character that has been broken is interesting.
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Jul 09, 2009
Lyn
rated it:
This was a well written novel about one woman and her obsessions and depression and the depths of destruction that both took her to.
I found the first half of the novel easier to read, the writing was beautifully poetic and seductive, however the second half of the novel was quite dark. There were some passages that were just hard to read, although they were necessary to tell her story.
This is a good read, but if you are looking for a light, fluffy summer time read, t More...
I found the first half of the novel easier to read, the writing was beautifully poetic and seductive, however the second half of the novel was quite dark. There were some passages that were just hard to read, although they were necessary to tell her story.
This is a good read, but if you are looking for a light, fluffy summer time read, t More...
