Best for:
Anyone interested in a straightforward exploration of a woman’s life under patriarchy. In this case, the patriarchy women experience in Korea.

In a nutshell:
Kim Jiyoung’s story, from birth through motherhood, and all the times her being a girl / woman has been held against her.

Worth quoting:
“It felt more like harassment or violence than pranks, and there was nothing she could do about it.”

“It wasn’t that she didn’t have time - she didn’t have room in her head for other thoughts.”

“The world had changed a great deal, but the little rules, contracts and customs had not, which meant the world hadn’t actually changed at all.”

Why I chose it:
I’d heard about the 4B movement recently, and this book (and the film it was eventually made into) is referenced as influencing it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4B_movement

Review:
On the surface this is a simple book. It’s a totally straightforward telling of one woman’s story, from birth through primary school, university, work and marriage.

From being a disappointment to her parents purely because she was a girl, to working to put her younger brother through university before she was able to go, to trying to find a job, to getting married and having a child. And all the ways that society puts the boys and men in her life first, both figuratively and, in the case of the order of who gets served lunch in primary school, literally.

But this is also a clever book - it takes a story that could be the story of so many women and makes it personal. It doesn’t have flowery writing, or long scenes of dialog. But it has emotion - and a lot of it. I had so many feelings while reading it. I often wrote in the margins such deep words as ‘gross’ and ‘what the fuck.’

Author Cho delivers an unexpected (to me, as I wasn’t familiar with the book or film at all) gut punch in the last few pages that still has me thinking a day after finishing the book. It’s an interesting framing that drives home all the pages that came before it.

What’s next for this book:
Recommending it to others. ( )

Kim Jiyoung is everywoman. Her name is a common one, her experience too. It would have been better if she'd been born a boy - according to her mother's in-laws. Her mother's career choices had been limited by the family's need to pay for her brother's education. Kim herself certainly plays second fiddle to her brother. The school system favours boys, university too. Boys sometimes harass girls - but it's the girl's fault. Women in work get paid less than men, and get overlooked for promotion. Kim discovers all this, and then gives up her career, which she loved, for a baby and domesticity. She can't be depressed - she has so much going for her surely? So she must be mad.

This story is told in an impersonal, baldly written style, and is supported by footnotes throughout. This is what gives the story its immediacy, and guaranteed its success among Korean women. Things might not be quite the same here, but this is a book whose message is not at all hard to understand. A vivid, uncompromising read. ( )

Unflinching and infuriating and superbly written! I got so angry and then heartbroken at times reading this and seeing how Jiyoung was treated and regarded, simply for being a woman. I think Cho does a wonderful job balancing out fact (the footnotes backing up her research were very informative) and fiction in a way that makes this story impossible to forget about. ( )

Although a novel, this story is punctuated with footnotes to facts and statistics about women’s second-class status in the workforce, an honest look at transitioning to full time motherhood and full economic dependency after having an interesting career, and a fascinating glimpse into the gender struggles in very traditional South Korea. I felt the characters were a little flat, but then when the narrator was revealed, it made more sense, and I suspect there may have been some nuances lost in translation. Nevertheless, a very good read. ( )

See the full review and more at MyBookJoy.com!

Recommended: oh yes
For men and others who are unaware of how crappily women are treated due to institutionalized efforts against them consciously or not, for those who need a refresher on gender equality, for a short read that packs a punch, for anyone looking for a cruel dose of reality


Thoughts:
I've lived and worked in Korea before, and it is my favorite place in the world. However that doesn't mean I'm blind to its flaws, as every place will have. In the case of Korea, much of it centers around gender equality issues largely stemming from traditional roles that the culture has struggled to truly move beyond. Basically, women are treated quite poorly in many ways that are yet deemed not only acceptable, but expected.

Reading this as a woman, none of this was a surprise to me. I've experienced or known others who have experienced so many of the same situations, whether in Korea or in the United States. I'd be very curious to see what it was like for a man or someone who doesn't have painful firsthand experience thinks of this.

The writing style is pragmatic and sparse, with no beating around the bush or euphemisms to pretty up the ugly truths within. It's highly effective as it lends the story that feeling that emotions are not distorting what is being said, and these are simply the facts of existence. A reader cannot deny understanding because it is so laid bare.

The citations of sources for facts within the novel were unusual, but punctuated that truth to the problem in an undeniable way. In fact, this all rang so true that I had to double check at the end that it WAS a novel. Even though this particular person is fictional, the experience is all to real.

Jiyoung is likeable and relatable. She is thoughtful and intelligent and a hard worker and still feels trapped by the unchanged societal views. She could be so many women around the world of any age.

The end is bitter yet accurate with the doctor's notes on Jiyoungs story. Though he thinks at length in a self-congratulatory way about how he's enlightened to these problems of women in a way most men are not, he then goes on to show what a farce that is. He STILL has the same negative thoughts and behaviours regarding women and working mothers, wrapping this up with a somewhat depressing tone showing that knowledge does not necessarily equal true change.

"...she knew that something as unjust and frustrating; but Jiyoung had a hard time voicing her complaints because she wasn't used to expressing her thoughts."

Thanks to Goodreads for a free ARC copy from a giveaway in exchange for an honest review! ( )