This was a tough novel to review. As much as I appreciated with two "voices," Insu and Big Uncle, and their stories --filled with historical and Korean folklore information--I couldn't get past the disjointed flow of the story. A lack of a strong thread throughout (aside from the skull water search) kept this novel from being a 4/5 star read for me.

Insu (a character based on the author) is a 14-year-old, mixed-race boy. His mom is a South Korean woman and his Dad is a German soldier. It's the mid 1970s and he's back in Korea after being in Germany while his dad was stationed there. Insu spends his time getting into trouble and engaging in different activities--skipping school to hang with his friends, selling goods on the black market, visiting his Big Uncle (who's shunned to the woods due to an infected foot), and, eventually, searching for the elusive "skull" with the water that will cure his uncle's ailment. The hopping from here to there is funny and compelling, at times, but overall it just seemed disconnected to the main theme. Although maybe that IS the theme. Disconnection with the real, war-torn world. The choppy cadence of the story kept me from appreciating the narrative and Insu's growth.

I enjoyed Big Uncle's remembrances. His chapters, set in the 1950s during the Korean War, seem to have more depth and emotional resonance for me than Insu's. My favorite moment of the novel was Insu's time with Big Uncle. Although Insu seemed to grow a bit through his experiences, his overall melancholic personality didn't lend itself to the creation of a strong character.

Overall, I just couldn't stay invested in this story.