So, I guess I have a limit to how many white people whining over their existential problems and this book reached it. Just not for me. I see this being compared to Sally Rooney's writing and yeah so, killed two birds with one stone. It confirmed me that I will not be reading Sally Rooney's works. I recommend picking it up Ottessa Moshfegh's work if you want unhinged, messy & whiny white protaganist with more complex lush writing. 

I just finished reading this book and my god. I am a mess in a pool of tears. This book opened a wound, poured salt all over it, closed it back, and told me I am capable of healing. I cannot possibly give it anything lower than 5 stars because oh my goodness, the character study is impeccable. The sociopolitical background of Halifax, Nigeria, London were all flashed out to inform the readers and enable us to see the world beyond just the characters. That is one of my favorite parts of contemporary writing, truly. It took me a while to read the book because of how heavy and realistic it just felt, this author is certainly remarkable. I cannot wait to read more of her books in the future. I regret not purchasing it but I will, eventually. Ugh, ugly crying aside, this book made me so hungry! I will always be a little envious that being in SEAsia means that we don't really have much of the Catalan or Nigerian food described in this book. Ugh, I guess I'll just have to whip a dish out somehow magically... I don't know we'll see. Nay, we'll do. 

I would say that I don't think this book would be for everybody, especially if you are really sensitive to sexual assault by a family member (graphic mention once, inferred multiple times), attempted suicide (off-screen), addiction with drugs, and alcohol. Some of the descriptions can be considered exposition dump, though I view it as immersive writing. The three POVs at the start could be quite difficult to grasp as we are jumping through different time periods of their life. The ending of the book might feel a little rushed and out of nowhere, though the hints of tension were crafted in the story. I guess - if you're looking for a book of resolutions, this isn't it. This is mess, this is betrayal, this is grief, this is forgiveness, this is family trying their best to address their hurt. 

Man, this book was weird and yet strangely familiar. 

This book was absolutely aggravating to read, especially the ending! Wow, I was grinding my teeth when THAT was the conclusion! Not that it was badly written, it's more so wow! I hate it here! This book was very informative, though it does discuss a conventional women as opposed to a disabled, a fat, a queer Korean women and how that would be like for her. Certainly, still a very interesting read nonetheless. I am just *begging*, nay I am *demanding*, that white reviewers from the west to shut up about their feminism and realise that context matters. I have seen way too many reviews commenting infantilising stuff that "no, it's okay, korean men don't know any better". I promise you, as a Southeast Asian person, men of all races know what they do when they exert their power over marginalised people. I promise you to drop your weird ideas about how feminism is not something familiar in the East when women from the East were front and centre fighting nationalist and socialist movements against white westerners invading and for Korea's purpose, Japan's invasion. Even in the text, it was mentioned casually so really, I am tired of all the infantilization happening in both YouTube and Goodreads (did not actually read anything here). 

Read the book and don't be weird about it. Maybe sit with your weird, weird views on people in Asia. We are not backwards, we are not stupid, your white feminist theories came from the people of colour birthed from your own western nations. Don't forget that.

I just couldn't get into it. I have never read The Great Gatsby as I have absolutely no interest in it. But, I picked this up because the premise sounded so lush and vibrant. Sadly, it did not measure to what it was promised. The main character feels so detached from the story, as we kept following Daisy and Gatsby, two characters I cannot care for. Nick is another character that is so one-dimensional as well. I love magical realism as a genre and I love historical fiction, so not being able to finish this book feels like a disappointment. I echo so many of the reviewers here to say that I genuinely do wish the writer would have stuck to exploring the magical realism of the world - separate from Gatsby himself. I am still interested to read any books by this author because I can see the potential in their writing! 

The final installment of the trilogy reads like, N K Jemisin chuckled at the thought of an editor and went, "who needs that? not me!" and I love it. I love how much of the world we got to see from the point of view of Sieh, which to me changed how we would have interpreted the world if we were to follow someone else. Sieh's perspective and his nature of childhood made this entire 600+ page book a whirlwind. He is far from a boring character with his quick-wittedness and his tricks. I want to be honest, I lost the plot of the entire book within like 50% of the book and yet I had a great time reading it and being immersed with the characters. Honestly, I have no idea why people rate this book down because you couldn't relate to any characters - like, oh my god, I hope not! These Gods, Godslings, Demons, and Conquerers are far removed from what you should be able to relate, and isn't that the entire point! That the inability for mortals (us, the readers) to relate to those who aren't is why the Gods, etc, stay away from the mortals. Certainly, there are themes that we could relate to: what growing up means, what it means to have a complicated relationship with your parents, what it means to not become what your environment wants you to become, etc.

Anyway, this trilogy has a special place in my heart. 

This book can be challenging to read, as per most leftist books out there which is my main criticism of the book. Even with my background knowledge with sociological jargon, this was difficult to follow through although the main takeaway is rather framing the kind of labor that trans people go through and what it actually means to transition  - socially, culturally, and medically. My favorite essays were the ones filled with personal anecdotes, memoirs, or informal conversations between friends. I specifically liked the entire essay that challenged the whole notion of viewing cissexuality as an oddity - as it is something that cisgender people have to constantly uphold to the point that I have to enforce and gatekeep it from trans people.