The book is a great page-turner but after a certain point starts feeling draggy. I would say I enjoyed it, but because of how unnecessarily stretched out it was, and because of how some scenes didn't need the kind of vivid, gross depictions that were attributed to them, I'll give it a solid 3/5.

It's a great read for any suspense/mystery/thriller lover, but be warned, some scenes might be very triggering/disturbing. (especially those involving rape). 

An easy read about a man battling depression and suicidal thoughts finding a purpose in life that makes him want to live. 

I found it to be a good and simple read, just a tad bit unexciting and monotonous. There were a few emotional moments in between, especially when talking about the war, and the novel almost perfectly communicated the gradual transcendence of joylessness and hopelessness to purposefulness, however, despite that there were points when it fell completely flat. 

I read the English translation of the book, and the purpose of the intermittent quotes seemed to have almost definitely been lost in translation. I also personally feel a lot of the moments would have probably been more impactful in the original Icelandic than in English. 

An easy 5 star for me. The way Cho Nam-Joo depicts the misogyny faced by Kim Jiyoung throughout the course of her life resonates so deeply that there were moments my eyes welled up- sometimes with anger, sometimes with sadness, sometimes because of how much it hit home.  

It's informative, it's emotional, it's captivating, and it's so gripping that you will want to finish it in one sitting.