Monday, April 23, 2012

The Calligrapher's Daughter (Eugenia Kim)

Why I have this book: I think I saw a review somewhere, and since it was about Korea, I bought it... a long time ago...

I enjoyed this book. It's not a page turner... sometimes I went days in between picking it up. To be fair, the second half kept my interest more than the first, and I did find myself staying up late to read it. I thought the book was very well written... it had that sort of ethereal feel to it. The story was good, and as I have a connection to Korea, the history and culture are always of interest to me.

I will keep this book for my daughter. She may want to read it someday.

A few sexual situations... nothing really graphic, and pretty much with a moral context.

2 comments:

  1. Just finished the book last night. I really liked it, especially since I enjoy the historical fiction genre. I admit that I was oblivious to the Japanese occupation of Korea, and learned a lot. Of course, everything has to be taken with a grain of salt, as it's fiction, but I still felt that the author had a pretty good handle on the situation from listening to and learning from her mothers stories. I found her description of the class system, their Confucian lifestyle, mixed with Christianity all very fascinating. Definitely a good read!

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  2. So glad you liked it! I've learned most of my Korean history from books like this one. The history of Korea, I think, is very important to the Korean people. I am so fascinated by it and by the strength of their connection to their traditions and history.

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