Welcome to Litsy!

Finished this a week ago & scenes come back to me randomly. It‘s epic in scope. Family trauma, family hopes, cultural shifts from North Korea to Japan to the US, misunderstandings, painful departures. It sounds so depressing but it‘s a journey I was willing to go on. If you‘ve read any memoirs by people who have escaped North Korea you‘ll know that parts of this book do not stray from the truth. Yes, it could be shorter but it‘s worth it. #booker

Louisa and her father are making their way down the breakwater, each careful step on the heaved granite blocks one step farther from shore.

#FirstLineFridays

#BookerLonglist delayed review. I was surprised at how quickly this read for such a long book. I was also a bit surprised at the straightforward nature of the story—no gimmicks, nothing to distract from the story of this torn-apart family. Identity…what does it mean to be a person living in another country from which you were born? How does one live with an illness? Are we merely living in relation to who we are to other people?

Um why is this book so long?

I‘m so glad I got over my hate of Trust Exercise to read this one, as I really liked it! Exploring themes of belonging and nationalism by zooming in on a single small family, the reader gains greater understanding of Japan and Korea. I‘m glad I had already read Pachinko so I had some background with Korea/Japan. I do think this could have used a bit of editing, but it‘s quite good.

#NBAlonglist, fiction

I haven‘t even started this book and yet already have a history with it. When it first came out, I was firmly opposed to reading it, as I HATED Choi‘s last book. Then I read a description and it sounds completely different. I eventually decided I actually want to read it and put it on hold about a month and a half ago, but the line‘s still crazy long so I used a Libro credit. Now to start while I work on my crochet plant!

Book vs Richard Osman...

Starting this and hoping to finish before the #Booker shortlist is announced.

Catching up on reviews! #BookerLonglist edition

While this one has some pacing issues, I'm glad I stuck with it to discover its many, murky layers. A story of family disconnection and buried trauma, I appreciated the thematic ideas of a flashlight's focused beam obscuring more than it illuminates, and how difficult it can be to see the full picture of those closest to us.

Cont'd in comments...

My 6th from the #Booker Prize longlist is a book of surprises with an international scope. It opens in LA after dad has gone missing in Japan, along a rocky beach. A mystery of sorts. Louise and mom must carry on.

It's wordy by style - the key strength and weakness of the book. Choi uses this to create atmosphere. There is also a lot of Japan, and Korea.

I enjoyed this. It was tough for me up front, but nice once it got going.
#Booker2025

Book #3 (and last for today) is Flashlight. This was less polarizing for our panel than others. I loved the writing style (sentences meticulously crafted and beautiful) but wasn‘t my favorite and dragged in some parts. #booker prize

Our panel reviews are at the link below. Drop a comment with your reviews/links.

https://thereadersroom.org/2025/08/29/2025-booker-longlist-flashlight-by-susan-c...

I enjoyed this novel and never found it predictable. It was much more than I thought it would be in the end. I did have trouble picking it up. 4 🌟
#booker2025
@Bookistrish @JenP @AnneCecilie @TheKidUpstairs @Leniverse @charl08 @Chelsea.Poole @JamieArc @BarbaraBB @Graywacke @Ruthiella @ChaoticMissAdventures @vikaplus321

Flashlight, by Susan Choi (2025)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: A man‘s disappearance while out for a walk on the beach with his daughter in 1970s Japan reverberates across the decades.

Review: Books told from multiple perspectives rise and fall with the sharpness of those perspectives, and this was my experience with this Booker longlist title. The sections dealing with the mother and daughter‘s lack of understanding of each other shine. ⬇️

13-5 Aug 25 (audiobook)
#Bookerlonglist2025 No 3
Epic story of a broken American Korean family‘s lives in various locations in the American mid-west, Korea and Japan. Each character battles with isolation, exile, disability and the tension of family ties.
I found this to be a gripping story which provided some further insight into 20th century Korea. Interesting that Korean stories seem to be trending in the past few years.

#bookerlonglist #12

I loved this epic, character driven chunkster. Louisa goes walking on a Japanese beach with her father one night. Sometime later Louisa is found, barely alive. Her father is never found.

We look back at their lives, and those of other peripheral characters, & also at the post-war history of Japan / Korea and China, a period of time I don‘t know much about and found fascinating.

At the top of my list, alongside Seascraper.

Bookshop.org.uk haul (Station Books)

I want to read all the books but I'm feeling rather ill today so am not really good for much except lying around complaining.

Traveling through Italy while the character in my book are also moving around. Really enjoying this book so far but I‘m reading very slowly this vacation.

Making my way through the Booker list. Loving the writing in this book. In 2 days I leave for vacation with my daughter to Italy where we will eat, read, and go to the beach. This is our annual tradition - 1-2 weeks traveling to a new to her place (I have been to Italy many times) over the summer. Time flies, she will be 15 this year and our trips will likely stop when she goes off to college. #bookerprize

I get so excited about the #Booker longlist, and then I start the 1st book, and it‘s like - wait, who are you? I need to step back and look a bit and get acquainted with this year‘s list of books. Can‘t take these relationships too fast…. This one is 1st. Possibly my only one on audio. Not sure yet if this ten year old in the prolonged is a sociopath. #Booker2025

I opened up my #stayaction package just now. @bumpinthenight , you spoiled me! I have discovered new authors and can‘t wait to dive into these books. The bookmark, neon stickers, hair clip are amazing. And the teas and popcorn are amazing! Thank you so much and many thanks to @Chrissyreadit and @DinoMom for organizing this #staycation.