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Audible audio performed by Allison Hiroto
This is an epic work of historical fiction that follows four generations of one Korean family living in Japan, beginning in 1910 and ending in 1989.
I was quickly drawn into the story and eagerly followed Sunja as she allied herself with Isak, the kind, tubercular minister who takes her from her homeland to Japan and raises her son as his own. I loved how the women created a business selling sweets to supplement the family’s earnings, and how they made p ...more
This is an epic work of historical fiction that follows four generations of one Korean family living in Japan, beginning in 1910 and ending in 1989.
I was quickly drawn into the story and eagerly followed Sunja as she allied herself with Isak, the kind, tubercular minister who takes her from her homeland to Japan and raises her son as his own. I loved how the women created a business selling sweets to supplement the family’s earnings, and how they made p ...more
This book has been on my radar since its publication but I've never added it to my tbr because I know it'll make me sad... Not even after all the rave reviews and friends' high rec. However, it was available in audio so I thought I'd give it a go.
It did make me sad. Not in a heartbreaking sob-my-heart-out way but more in a life-is-hard way. As it's repeated in the novel, you'll just have to bear up and persevere. This just depresses me and of course, it affected my mood terribly so I'm very very ...more
It did make me sad. Not in a heartbreaking sob-my-heart-out way but more in a life-is-hard way. As it's repeated in the novel, you'll just have to bear up and persevere. This just depresses me and of course, it affected my mood terribly so I'm very very ...more
This is a great book that tells the story of an overlooked population: Korean immigrants generationally in Japan as non-citizens. It's a multi-generational saga that shows how this immigrant family faces discrimination and deals with it in various ways. Some of them rise above it and feel that it doesn't matter, but others feel they lose themselves as they are neither Korean nor Japanese and don't have a home and don't fit in anywhere. It's a story of hope, but also has much to say about the vie
...more
Dec 15, 2016
Katharine
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
challenges-locations
May 04, 2017
Amanda A
rated it
really liked it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobook,
read-in-2017
Mar 02, 2017
Suzanne
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
outside-us-england,
library-lp-cd-ebook
Oct 04, 2017
Teddie
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
npr-2017,
national-book-award
May 11, 2019
Amy Hayes
marked it as to-read
Aug 11, 2019
Kristen
marked it as to-read
Oct 14, 2019
Robin Jeree
marked it as to-read
