Book Talk

I read a few more books since the end of April, so let’s talk about them! Looking at the list below, I didn’t have a very good track record in my choices, because most of them landed in the “not my thing” category. But sometimes, that happens.

Small disclaimer upfront: My favourite genres are literary fiction and magic realism, and I love stories that are set in East Asia. I don't exclusively read these things, but they're what I enjoy most at the moment and they might make up a good chunk of the books that I mention. I'm not into fantasy at the moment.

Books I loved:

Human Acts by Han Kang
This book is rough. It deals with the Gwangju uprising in 1980 and the violence that happened during those events. I had never heard of it, but the story and different POVs were so gripping and compelling and terrifying that it drew me in. This was also the first book I read by Han Kang, and I loved it so much that I expected to love the others just as much. Spoiler: I did not.

The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir by Karen Cheung
If there‘s any book in which a city feels like a character, you can sign me up! I loved this book and the author’s perspective. I didn‘t know much about the history of Hong Kong, but after finishing this, I did a bit of research to get a better grasp on it.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
This was written from the perspective of a cat, and it was witty, fun and heartbreaking. I enjoyed this so much more than I expected. The cat‘s voice is just spot-on.

Books I liked:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
On the very first page of the book, you learn that a murder takes place. I really loved the part of the book leading up to it, like “how did we get to this point?”. Super interesting and compelling. HOWEVER, everything after that was a let-down. Details that would have been interesting were not addressed at all, and instead, the story focused on a lot of boring stuff, and seemingly shocking revelations. Meh. I really enjoyed the writing style though!

Loveless by Alice Oseman
A bit heavy on the teen drama for my personal taste, but I loved reading about an asexual protagonist and her story, and all the main characters felt real and fleshed out.

Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park
This queer story focused on dating in Seoul with all its ups and downs. I really liked the first chapter that revolved around friendship. I guess I’m just more interested in platonic relationships, rather than romance. That’s on me. I enjoyed the book, it was entertaining, but maybe a little forgettable?

Books that weren‘t my thing:

Pachinko by Min-jin Lee
I listened to this as an audiobook, otherwise I wouldn‘t have been able to get through it. The writing is great and the characters were interesting, but I think I‘m just not into generational family saga type books. The story was gripping in the beginning and I was curious to see what would happen next, but as it progressed, I wasn‘t as invested anymore. I guess I’m super basic and need an exciting mystery or secret to keep me engaged over generations and different characters.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
I‘m sorry, I really wanted to love this one. In fact, I expected to love this one. The cover looks gorgeous, the premise sounds amazing (Korean legend meets Spirited Away), plus there‘s an underwater city! But the writing was clunky and not immersive at all. The dialogue was stilted, the characters felt flat, and the romance felt forced and unmotivated. Getting through this honestly felt like a chore, and almost put me in a reading slump.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang
I loved Human Acts, but this… no. It reminded me of Murakami in a way, but only the aspects of his books that I enjoy the least (the overly weird and sexualised bits). It’s not a bad book, just not my thing. Oh, and the men in this book were all utterly useless and pathetic, it was almost comical.

The White Book by Han Kang
This is a collection of little stories and musings all around the colour white. I loved, loved, loved this concept. But it felt like a poetry collection, and I’m not that into poetry. But I think someone who appreciates it can find something really special here.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
If you look past the overarching concept (which makes this very light sci-fi and was kinda cool and interesting), this is just a lot of teenage drama. Too much for me. And the main character’s voice started annoying me pretty quickly.


Books that were wtfvhtzfjuu??!

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Trigger warnings, so many trigger warnings. I can’t even decide whether I liked this book or not. That’s why it gets its own category. Fact is that it made me veeery uncomfortable at times. This book is wild! Give it a try and see for yourself.