Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
The Starlet and the Spy
The Starlet and the Spy: A Novel | Ji-min Lee
3 posts | 2 read | 5 to read
A dazzling work of historical fiction about two women who seem the most unlikely to ever meet: Alice, a Korean war survivor and translator for the American forces in Seoul and Marilyn Monroe, who is visiting Korea on a four-day USO tour. February 1954. Although the Korean War armistice was signed a year ago, most citizens of Seoul still battle to return to some semblance of normalcy. Conditions are dismal. Children beg for food, and orphanages are teeming. Alice J. Kim, a Korean translator and typist for the American forces still sanctioned in the city, yearns for the life she used to live before her country was torn apart. Then Alices boss makes an announcementthe American movie star Marilyn Monroe will be visiting Korea on a four-day USO tour, and Alice has been chosen as her translator. Though intrigued, Alice has few expectations of the jobwhat could she and a beautiful actress at the peak of her fame possibly have to talk about? Yet the Marilyn she meets, while just as dazzling and sensual as Alice expected, is also surprisingly approachable. As Marilyns visit unfolds, Alice is forced into a reckoning with her own painful past. Moving and mesmerizing, The Starlet and the Spy is a beautiful portrayal of unexpected kinship between two very different women, and of the surprising connections that can change, or even save, a life.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
review
GidgetsTreasures75
post image
Mehso-so

2-8-23: My 15th finished book of 2023! It‘s February 1954 and the Korean War has ended but those that live in Seoul are still reeling from the devastation. A young translator named Alice J. Kim is tasked with helping Marilyn Monroe when she comes to visit and perform for the American soldiers. Alice is tormented by things that happened during the war and those she has lost but the approachable Marilyn offers her kindness and saves her.

GidgetsTreasures75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣1️⃣5️⃣ 14mo
8 likes1 comment
review
Aaronlisa
post image
Mehso-so

I read this Apr 4-5 & rated it 3.5 ⭐️. The story of the Korean narrator, Alice, is an interesting one but the addition of Marilyn Monroe feels forced or out of place. Whilst I understand why the author was motivated to tell these two stories, I felt that the story didn‘t really need the addition of Marilyn.

blurb
RealLifeReading
post image

I had a nice wander around the library just before school pickup and it was so pleasant and quiet. Don‘t get me wrong, I love seeing kids at the library but sometimes it‘s nice to be able to browse in peace.
I snagged books from some authors whose works I‘ve previously enjoyed (Nakamura and Jaswal) & also a new-to-me author, Ji-Min Lee. I read Monica Ali‘s Brick Lane years ago. As for St Aubyn, I‘ve been meaning to read his works for so long!