Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Ratings236
Average rating4.1
I love how Korean fiction seems to have gotten me out of my last two stress/anger-induced reading slumps ! Also I for once can say I literally read this book in one afternoon, probably my lowest time to page ratio ever
A novella that shows they experiences of being a woman an korea through the generations and ages. This story packs a punch with it honesty but also with supporting her story with statistics. You can see the way women are bound to korean tradition, but also the universal harrassment women face all over the world.
Sometimes the translation felt off...but I enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. As the book describes the layers of gender inequality built into Korean culture by narrating Kim Jiyoung's life, it so accurately illustrates the questions (and micro/macro aggressions) many women face. The book definitely opened my eyes to small grievances that went unnoticed in my life - things I just accepted “were the way they were” - but wished I hadn't. Wouldn't say the book is inspiring; it almost felt defeatist.
The more I think about it though, maybe thr ‘defeatist' tone is what the author intended. It evokes a sense of ‘things need to change.'
Very good portrait of the ~”mundane tragedy” of being a woman, wife, and mother, and the burdens therein solitarily shouldered, in sickness and in health.
I liked the way the timeline of the book was presented, it reminded me of Pachinko a little.
I know the artlessness is intentional and that it still stands to gain something from presenting itself as a novel, but I can't shake the feeling that a fully-actualized work would be able to submit a stronger case for why it's not a longform article. Develops complexity by spurning generic expectations and yet chooses not to engage with the features of fiction-writing with real dynamic potential, that lend real novels legitimacy and reward close analysis. Definitely a book that is much more Important than it is Good
3.8/5
This book reall exposes the realities of misogyny and societal inequality faced by countless women. Throughout the story, I found myself deeply empathizing with Jiyoung's struggles, her frustration mirroring experiences many women can relate to on a personal level.
However the constant barrage of statistics felt distracting. These facts, while intended to add context, occasionally pulled me out of the emotional flow of the story. It felt like reading a thesis at times. The ending kind of left me hanging too. I would have liked to know for sure if Jiyoung got better, but the book doesn't really say. Still, even without a clear ending, the story made me think a lot.
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 serves as a powerful reminder of the challenges women continue to face. It shows how much things need to change for women to be treated fairly. It makes you mad, but it also makes you think, and that's a good thing.
Me quedé muy triste y frustrada ☹️ el final... cae como un golpe en la cara. Realmente me gustaría pensar que es solo ficción. Me dolió leer esto, de verdad. Ojalá las cosas sigan cambiando. Haremos que cambien ❤️
My rating has more to do with how I'm feeling these days than the book itself. Very very enraged.
3,5⭐️. Narrada en un estilo sobrio, casi podríamos decir heredero de la generación del 98 (salvando las distancias en el tiempo y el espacio), una prosa que no deja espacio para el lirismo ni la belleza formal; va al grano. Por momentos es muy efectiva y efectista (la escena del autobús es angustiosa). Cuenta la vida una mujer surcoreana y de su familia directa haciendo especial hincapié en la discriminación que sufren las mujeres en el país asiático en todos los ámbitos: familiar, educativo, laboral, social, económico, etc. El final, eso sí, es desalentador porque señala que la situación de discriminación laboral es un círculo vicioso muy difícil de romper.
Una denuncia del machismo arraigado en la cultura coreana firme, contundente pero sin las estridencias, escándalos ni fuegos de artificio que lamentablemente han contaminado de ideología política el movimiento feminista en las sociedades occidentales. Cho Nam-Joo alza una voz serena para mostrar una realidad que cambia muy poco a poco pero esperemos que definitivamente por el bien de la mujer asiática.
En un momento fue muy lenta la lectura pero se merece esta calificación, después de todo logras empatizar con la protagonista y sentir la frustración que vive continuamente.
4.5 stars. This was incredible. A book I will recommend a thousand times and scream from rooftops for everyone to read.
Oh, do I have some thoughts on this book. First off, I found this book after reading The Vegetarian, it was recommended to me by the website, and they indeed have common themes. One of the main ones is simply being a woman in South Korea. What a dreadful thing. How do Korean women survive? I am so enraged on their behalf, and mine too.
It has been so tough on Kim Jiyoung to simply exist. She never got any real support, only empty words of encouragement, ultimately being left to fend for herself, to just deal with it. And then she was criticised too for things out of her control. And isn't that something that keeps happening over and over again and we are all so painfully aware of it, but other than fake encouragement words nothing gets done? Ugh, I'm pissed off.
Every time I had the impression that not every woman's situation is the same and that not every man in the book is the same, I was absolutely crushed. They absolutely are the same, with no question. Even when there was a glimmer of hope and no matter how hard I tried to hang on to that hope, it just wasn't happening. I disliked that so much.
And I disliked the narrator, what a self-righteous prick.
Needless to say the book is amazing, it is so powerful, even more when you can actually relate to it, and I would say there is no excuse to not reading it, but also there is a really high chance that some of the readers will not fully get it and I don't know what's worse, not knowing or knowing but not taking any action. There's no win on this one.
I can't say I understand the hype on this one. The format and style felt off ??? a strange mix of fiction and non-fiction, including footnotes with sources. The shift to the doctor's perspective in the last chapter felt like it came out of nowhere and ended just as briskly. By that point I'd completely forgotten that a doctor was even involved in the story, even though I must have read it in the blurb. Even though we spend the entire book with the main character, I still feel like by the end, her condition hasn't been examined at all, only her role in society. Her taking on the personas of others doesn't feel like a condition or piece of characterisation in its own right but more like something tacked only for the sake of metaphor.
Es gibt in diesem Buch nichts über dramatisches. Es ist wirklich nur eine Lebensgeschichte einer sehr normalen/typischen koreanischen Frau (fast zu langweilig) und ihre Erfahrungen habe ich zich mal bei anderen Charakteren in Kdramas gesehen. Natürlich war die Respektlosigkeit und Diskriminierung trotzdem sehr nervenzerrend, aber ehrlich gesagt habe ich noch schlimmeres erwartet;
Die Paar Fakten von diversen Studien zur Koreanischer weiblicher Bevölkerung und Gesetze die im Laufe des Lebens des Hauptcharakters verabschiedet wurden, waren interessant zu erfahren.
this was such an interesting read, learning more about korea and korean women, their struggles and how regardless of cultural differences, still suffer the same as other women around the planet.
4.5/5
If I had a nickel for every time I read a book about a woman developing psychosis from postpartum depression I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird it happened twice.
In all seriousness, I really resonated with Jiyoung's story, especially the special treatment of her brother. I was even sharing excerpts of the book with my sister and we both mulled about the similarities between both Jiyoung's life and ours.
Reading about the experiences and sacrifices that us women have to go through just because we're women made me incredibly sad and disheartened, and usually I use reading as a way to escape from real world horrors, but I truly truly loved this book and was so glad that I read it.
Infuriating, definitely felt like a rage-read with an aftertaste that only women can understand.
This was engrossing and enraging! The fact that the book is a clinical presentation of Jiyoung and she never gets to tell her own story makes the reader SO MAD. That format/presentation is part of the point of the book and it's so well done. I can see why it caused such a stir in Korea and while it's not exactly the same here, I've experienced many of the scenarios in the book.
Dit boek verdient haar vijf sterren. Mega droog geschreven, dat geef ik toe. Maar ieder die oplettend leest ziet in dat het einde verklaart waarom het allemaal zo droog is geschreven.
De boodschap van het boek is ook belangrijk, en misschien heeft deze simpele, saaie manier van schrijven juist het doel om de boodschap extra hard binnen te laten dringen. Geen mooie, bijzondere manier van schrijven die ons kan afleiden van de boodschap. Alleen de lezer en de boodschap.
Dat vrouwen zo leven is voor mij geen verrassing meer, maar vind het belangrijk dat iedereen ook weet hoe het ergens anders is voor de vrouw, en niet alleen focust op zijn eigen directe omgeving. Vrouwen zijn overal, en overal wordt er op ze neergekeken.
Persoonlijk vind ik dat dit boek een boodschap brengt die we allemaal serieus(er) moeten nemen. Tot vandaag zien te weinig mannen in hoe het is voor een vrouw: je wordt niet serieus genomen, je wordt als object gezien, en er wordt verwacht dat je alles laat vallen voor je man en je kind. En ga maar door.
Dit is iets wat iedereen moet lezen. Daarnaast helpen de statistieken. Zelf kom ik uit een omgeving waar mannen zeggen dat ‘harde feiten' de enige waarheid kunnen zijn, en beleving is onzin. De bronnen die worden gebruikt zijn directe onderbouwing voor het verhaal, wat het verhaal geloofwaardiger maakt. En misschien zorgen deze bronnen voor een extra duwtje voor mannen om objectief te zien wat werkelijk plaats vindt in de maatschappij.