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Title: The Foreign Student : A Novel by Susan Choi ISBN: 0-06-092927-8 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.68 (19 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: good if uneven writing
Comment: Susan Choi writes well. But alas, she doesn't know much about Korea. I quickly noticed this as I am from Korea. I think that's the most glaring flaw of this book--the war part in Korea is written so woodenly, it's almost painful to read. I could see that Choi wrote down the mere facts from what she dug up from her research. And also it goes on too long without giving the reader a clear picutre or map of the situation in general, so it was all so very vuague to me.
The best character in this book was Edison. The relationship between him and Katherine is very well depicted. In fact, come to think of it, it was almost like reading two books in one.
If Choi sticks to the world she knows mor intimately, which seems to me western rather than eastern, American rather than Korean, she would produce something wonderful with her talent.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Novel That Stops Time
Comment: I usually dislike reading KA fiction because it gets irritating when authors write about Korea but describe the country with skewed, distorted myths about it's culture and history and auto-Orientalist themes that cater to the mainstream.
Not so with this novel. I found myself completely lost in the story, not even caring about the "authenticity" issue because Choi does what all great writers do: she re-imagines and re-creates a palpable "real" universe that stops time. The fictional world transcends almost everything else I've read by Korean Americans, making you believe the characters, the location, the feelings. In short, it is a beautifully written novel and my personal favorite of all the Asian American novels I've read.
That having been said, I am happy to attest that Choi does indeed write about the truth of the Korean War that goes against the conventional American myths about this unknown conflict. Choi does not hesitate to go into little known aspects of the war such as S. Korean President Syngman Rhee's execution of political prisoners and the Cheju/Yosu rebellions which took 100,000 lives even before the Korean War erupted in June 1950. Moreover, Choi depicts the Orientalist, racist experiences for Chang, a foreigner in America's South, and subtly links it to America's damaging foreign policies that warped Korea. She even resurrects a devastatingly convincing portrait of Gen. Hodge, the commander of the US military government in S. Korea--you can practically hear him breathing and speaking. This novel is startling in its audacity to depict America's occluded responsibility for the war that probably even challenges what most Koreans over 50 believe. As a former fact-checker for the New Yorker magazine, I suspect that she used her skills to do meticulous research into the origins of the Korean War. Having lived in Korea (and in Chicago, where her description of Clark and Belmont is right on) I am surpised by her accuracy and the "truth" of her details. I've read an article where Choi downplays the "authenticity" issue of her novel, and emphasizes that it is fiction. She's right, of course, but I am simply delighted that she has rendered a beautiful story that will not only impress the common reader, but satisfy those familiar with Korean history. Her research only heightens the pleasure of reading this gem of a novel.
Rating: 4
Summary: Brilliant, Searing, Flawed
Comment: Katherine Monroe and her mother, Glee, are two of the most vivid women I have encountered in fiction for quite a long time. I began reading this book about two years ago, and although I put it down, I never was able to put out of my mind the opening chapter, when Chuck arrives at Sewanee and meets Katherine for the first time. Finally I have read the entire book, and I feel that it will haunt me for quite a while. One flaw in this beautiful novel is the love affair between Katherine and Chuck. I don't see that these very different people would attract one another. I found myself rooting for the depraved Charles Addison. Another flaw lies in the sometimes-lengthy flashbacks to the Korean War. They were sometimes labored and struck me as the product of fastidious research rather than first-hand knowledge (which would be impossible given Choi's birth in 1969). Aside from this, the novel is well worth reading and I look forward to Choi's future novels.
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Title: American Woman : A Novel by Susan Choi ISBN: 0060542217 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 14 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: A Cab Called Reliable : A Novel About Growing Up In America by Patti Kim ISBN: 0312190301 Publisher: Griffin Trade Paperback Pub. Date: 15 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee ISBN: 1573225312 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: March, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: A Gesture Life by Chang-Rae Lee ISBN: 1573228281 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: 10 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Interpreter by Suki Kim ISBN: 0374177139 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 21 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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