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Into This World
"This fast-paced story of a family secret will keep readers turning pages."—Krys Lee, author of Drifting House Allison flies to Seoul to discover the truth about her adopted sister. A tangled history of love and deception reunites two sisters whose fates were shaped by a long-lost love and its attendant lies, and the history of a country and a man they never understood. Sybil Baker is the author of The Life Plan and Talismans . She spent twelve years teaching in South Korea, returning to the United States in 2007. She teaches creative writing at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
208 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 2012
94 people want to read
About the author
Sybil Baker
13 books42 followersSybil Baker’s latest novel is While You Were Gone. Her book of nonfiction Immigration Essays is the 2018-2019 Read2Achieve selection for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is also the author of The Life Plan, Talismans, and Into This World (Foreword Book of the Year finalist, and Eric Hoffer Award Honorable Mention). She was awarded two MakeWork Artist Grants and a 2017 Individual Artist’s Fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission. She lives and teaches in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is on faculty at the Yale Writers’ Workshop and VCFA’s low residency International MFA
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 18, 2012
I read from page 40-ish until the end in one evening, despite the fact that I should've gone to sleep. So that should give you an indicator of its appeal.
Read my full review at Glorified Love Letters.
Read my full review at Glorified Love Letters.
April 22, 2012
An amazing and well-written novel. You won't be able to put it down! Wonderful!
Want to read
May 22, 2012MUST... *GASP* READ... *AHHH* THIS! BOOK!!!!! =D
August 17, 2012
I won Into This World by Sybil Baker in a giveaway for free on Goodreads First/Reads. I rated this book 5 stars*** Loved It- Sybil's writing in this book was refreshing. (nothing was overdone) I enjoyed the story of the two sisters. I know this will be one of my favorites for 2012- I was interested in the book from beginning to end, and I really liked the back ground story going on throughout the book. I formed a connection with the main characters. Sybil added just the right amount of detail to give you a vivid picture of what the girls looked like. I also loved the design of this book with the added detail on the blank pages between chapters and the beginning of a new chapter. I look forward to reading more from this author. (well done)
December 5, 2012
Initially this book was not going the right way. The characters seemed all so hurtful to each other. And because my own children age adopted it caused me some anxiety.
But the more you get to know Allison and Mina, Wayne and Sunny, the more I realized they are probably pretty real people that have a lot of unfinished business.
I really liked the descriptions of S. Korea, specially in comparison with descriptions of previous times. Now I really want to visit Korea.
So, finally, Allison's and Mina's relationship made the book very enjoyable.
Couldn't give it 5 stars though...I found some things were not explained clearly, specially the characters of Robert and Jason. Both too mysterious without any resolution.
But the more you get to know Allison and Mina, Wayne and Sunny, the more I realized they are probably pretty real people that have a lot of unfinished business.
I really liked the descriptions of S. Korea, specially in comparison with descriptions of previous times. Now I really want to visit Korea.
So, finally, Allison's and Mina's relationship made the book very enjoyable.
Couldn't give it 5 stars though...I found some things were not explained clearly, specially the characters of Robert and Jason. Both too mysterious without any resolution.
June 25, 2012
I grew up with two brothers, so I've always been fascinated by the relationship between sisters. I really enjoyed the tension between Allison and Mina, I thought it read very real. No one has a perfect relationship with their siblings, and this books highlights the fact that although siblings are family, that doesn't mean you know them or understand them.
The jumps in time were really helpful and I loved being able to see from her father's perspective. The descriptions about Korea were very evocative and I could imagine myself there as I read the book both in present time and the past.
The jumps in time were really helpful and I loved being able to see from her father's perspective. The descriptions about Korea were very evocative and I could imagine myself there as I read the book both in present time and the past.
September 5, 2012
I read this book twice in a row. The story of two half-sisters, one of whom leaves America to find her mother in Korea, was hard to put down. The book is told from three points of view: Allison's, Mina's, and their father Wayne's. The tension between the sisters is palpable, and the consequences of finding the "truth" of a family are fully explored.
I met Sybil in graduate school, and after that she spent many years living in Seoul. I've never been there, but it's fun to read about Allison's adjustment to Korean culture after she follows her sister to Seoul.
I met Sybil in graduate school, and after that she spent many years living in Seoul. I've never been there, but it's fun to read about Allison's adjustment to Korean culture after she follows her sister to Seoul.
January 18, 2016
I reviewed this book at New Pages...
http://www.newpages.com/bookreviews/a...
http://www.newpages.com/bookreviews/a...
May 27, 2012
Sybil Baker's dazzling third novel, Into This World, is a deeply moving tale of family, betrayal, misperceptions, and love lost and found. At the heart of the novel are sisters, Allison and Mina. At the opening, Allison is at a desperate crossroads, having just learned that her sister has betrayed her in what she believes is the worst way possible. As per usual, Mina, the wild child, is at the center of their parents' thoughts as she has unexpectedly moved back to Korea and called them with a potentially upsetting revelation. With this, Allison dumps her old life and sets out for Seoul, seemingly in search of her sister.
What she finds instead is the truth of her family's many secrets when she learns that they have all been living dual lives. In acting as the "puppetmaster" who brings all of the players to their final destination in a temple, Allison offers them all what they have been looking for, including her, and that is forgiveness and a second chance.
The third person point of view deftly switches amongst the many characters showing us their past and present with exquisite detail. I was especially touched by the empathy shown to Wayne, the dad, who set the whole tale in motion by making the decisions he made as a young GI in Korea:
"Wayne ran out of the bar onto the street, crowded with soldiers he didn't know. He hurried back to base, fell into his bunk, and wrote Bonnie a rambling letter of childhood longing, of how when he was a little boy, he'd watch the show of shadows play across his room, of how he was too terrified to sleep. Then he prayed to God and asked for strength and forgiveness, of which, he already feared, he would need much in the year to come."
Mina, too, captured my heart as seen as the young child torn from her life and moved to the United States. And then, of course, there is Allison who shows growth throughout ending, finally, in acceptance of her flaws and, more importantly, acceptance of the flaws of those around her:
"Ever since she'd decided to come to Seoul, Allison told herself that all she wanted to know was the truth. She could not change what Wayne had done, what Mina had done, what Ray had done, but she could live out of the shadows, in the sun. Yet this was not the kind of truth she'd been expecting. She'd been searching to discover the lies others had told her, but not ones she'd told herself."
It's a beautiful and beautifully drawn story and I will live in the world shown to me for days to come. I hope you will read it.
What she finds instead is the truth of her family's many secrets when she learns that they have all been living dual lives. In acting as the "puppetmaster" who brings all of the players to their final destination in a temple, Allison offers them all what they have been looking for, including her, and that is forgiveness and a second chance.
The third person point of view deftly switches amongst the many characters showing us their past and present with exquisite detail. I was especially touched by the empathy shown to Wayne, the dad, who set the whole tale in motion by making the decisions he made as a young GI in Korea:
"Wayne ran out of the bar onto the street, crowded with soldiers he didn't know. He hurried back to base, fell into his bunk, and wrote Bonnie a rambling letter of childhood longing, of how when he was a little boy, he'd watch the show of shadows play across his room, of how he was too terrified to sleep. Then he prayed to God and asked for strength and forgiveness, of which, he already feared, he would need much in the year to come."
Mina, too, captured my heart as seen as the young child torn from her life and moved to the United States. And then, of course, there is Allison who shows growth throughout ending, finally, in acceptance of her flaws and, more importantly, acceptance of the flaws of those around her:
"Ever since she'd decided to come to Seoul, Allison told herself that all she wanted to know was the truth. She could not change what Wayne had done, what Mina had done, what Ray had done, but she could live out of the shadows, in the sun. Yet this was not the kind of truth she'd been expecting. She'd been searching to discover the lies others had told her, but not ones she'd told herself."
It's a beautiful and beautifully drawn story and I will live in the world shown to me for days to come. I hope you will read it.
December 21, 2012
Into This Life
By Sybil Baker
This novel takes place in the Korea of the 1950s, Korea today, and suburban American, with two intersecting but ultimately separate plots. Both are variants on the theme of American innocents abroad. The first plot has some elements in common with “Madame Butterfly”: a young American soldier goes to Asia and becomes involved with a Korean woman. The second plot concerns his daughter, who goes to Korea several decades later seeking to bring her adoptive sister “back home” but instead becomes thoroughly immersed in the exotic, intriguing world of modern Asia. Both worlds—wartime Korea and Korea today—are drawn in such fine detail that they draw the reader in, giving us the pleasure we seek from novels, to take us to places we have never and most likely never will go. The contrast between the destitution of 1950s Korea and the glitzy prosperity of Korea today is the story of much of Asia—known to most Americans only as an abstraction but here made concrete and unforgettable. People and situations are captured in a phrase that makes them real and immediate: e.g., at a tedious suburban pool party “Allison watched the others not drink whatever was in their hands.” When Allison’s mother, a suburban housewife, finds that her protected emotional world is being shattered: “Bonnie opened her purse and fished out a crumpled tissue to dab her eyes, carefully sopping up dark mascara.”
Both plots are cleverly and believably done, as is their interweaving. And when the final revelations and reversals happen, they unexpected and satisfying. The novel is so successful at drawing the reader in that I for one didn’t want it to end: I wanted to know what happened next to these characters the author had made us care so much about.
By Sybil Baker
This novel takes place in the Korea of the 1950s, Korea today, and suburban American, with two intersecting but ultimately separate plots. Both are variants on the theme of American innocents abroad. The first plot has some elements in common with “Madame Butterfly”: a young American soldier goes to Asia and becomes involved with a Korean woman. The second plot concerns his daughter, who goes to Korea several decades later seeking to bring her adoptive sister “back home” but instead becomes thoroughly immersed in the exotic, intriguing world of modern Asia. Both worlds—wartime Korea and Korea today—are drawn in such fine detail that they draw the reader in, giving us the pleasure we seek from novels, to take us to places we have never and most likely never will go. The contrast between the destitution of 1950s Korea and the glitzy prosperity of Korea today is the story of much of Asia—known to most Americans only as an abstraction but here made concrete and unforgettable. People and situations are captured in a phrase that makes them real and immediate: e.g., at a tedious suburban pool party “Allison watched the others not drink whatever was in their hands.” When Allison’s mother, a suburban housewife, finds that her protected emotional world is being shattered: “Bonnie opened her purse and fished out a crumpled tissue to dab her eyes, carefully sopping up dark mascara.”
Both plots are cleverly and believably done, as is their interweaving. And when the final revelations and reversals happen, they unexpected and satisfying. The novel is so successful at drawing the reader in that I for one didn’t want it to end: I wanted to know what happened next to these characters the author had made us care so much about.
June 22, 2012
This is a truly remarkable novel. I admit that there were a few times in the first chapters when I nearly put it down, but I couldn't be happier that I kept reading. Because it turns out that the author was right, and I was wrong.
Around Chapter 11, the book hits a stride that puts everything that went before into context. The dialogue gets tighter, the descriptions sharper and the pace ramps up to unrelenting – all of which sustains until the novel's final lines.
In fact, Baker's hand is so deft that it becomes apparent that any awkwardness in the early chapters is deliberate, reflective of the lives of the characters… and peels away through the two sisters' discovery of themselves, each other, and the world around them.
A tremendously ambitious story, bravely and beautifully told. Made me think of Coetzee without the despair, or Jhumpa Lahiri without the emotional restraint.
Highly recommended. Am buying her earlier books today.
Around Chapter 11, the book hits a stride that puts everything that went before into context. The dialogue gets tighter, the descriptions sharper and the pace ramps up to unrelenting – all of which sustains until the novel's final lines.
In fact, Baker's hand is so deft that it becomes apparent that any awkwardness in the early chapters is deliberate, reflective of the lives of the characters… and peels away through the two sisters' discovery of themselves, each other, and the world around them.
A tremendously ambitious story, bravely and beautifully told. Made me think of Coetzee without the despair, or Jhumpa Lahiri without the emotional restraint.
Highly recommended. Am buying her earlier books today.
August 19, 2013
Into This World provides a fascinating, easily assessable view into Seoul. Baker's writing intensifies with each chapter to the point that it only took me two days to read all 205 pages. For me, that's quite impressive.
This book educates and entertains all at the same time. The characters feel real, and the story is driven by a careful combination of plot events and emotional thought. The larger, structured use of intermittent flashbacks will keep readers informed and yet guessing from beginning to end.
This book educates and entertains all at the same time. The characters feel real, and the story is driven by a careful combination of plot events and emotional thought. The larger, structured use of intermittent flashbacks will keep readers informed and yet guessing from beginning to end.
June 3, 2013
I loved this book, not only because the story about sisters is fascinating, but because the narrative descriptions of Seoul trasported me to a place I've never seen. Yet, now I feel I've been there, amidst the bustle, lights and noise, aromatic spices. Most good stories are about secrets, so this is no exception. Baker's ability to keep the reader guessing, weaving present and past stories, juggling two worlds, two cultures, is impressive. Highly recommended.
June 20, 2012
I received this book in a Good Reads give-away. It took a couple of chapters before I was engaged but then I found myself really caring about these characters and what they were experiencing. I was able to connect with them even though I don't have much in common with the characters. Enjoyable read. It even made a plane trip go faster- high praise!
September 17, 2012
With Into This World, Sybil Baker astutely delves into Korea’s dynamic, complex culture and upends the lives of a far-flung and reluctant family by dredging up secrets that cannot be reburied or ignored, forcing the characters to revisit ghosts and re-evaluate themselves and each other. About the lies we tell and those we believe, Into This World, is sure to leave you craving more.
June 30, 2012
Loved this book! I only wish I would have had a chunk of time to read it when I started because it is definitely a book you could devour in one sitting.
June 8, 2012
This one picks up speed and never stops accelerating. I feel like I've been to Korea now, even though I haven't. I'm ready to go back. Well done!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews