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#WITReadathon
review
merelybookish
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Pickpick

An unnamed narrator in her 30s, a writer, reflects on her teen years working at a factory in Seoul while attending high school in the evenings. It's a painful period in her life, full of poverty, broken relationships, isolation, fear, and political turmoil. It's the dream of becoming a writer that helps her survive. Now, after years of suppressing this traumatic time in her life, she decides to write about it, but the process is painful. 👇

merelybookish The novel flips back and forth, between the writing of the book and the past she is re-creating. It was powerful to see what she endured and how it shaped her. Also the difficulty and perhaps catharsis in making it public. This is my first novel by a South Korean. There was so much I didn't know about the politics. It was a good story and I feel I learned a lot about another country, which is why reading books in translation is so worthwhile! 5y
merelybookish Picture from the NY Times. I don't know if this is an autobiographical novel but the writer Kyung-Sook Shin did work at a factory and attended a high school for industrial workers for a while. 5y
mhillis Great review! I didn‘t know much about the Gwangju Uprising so I found myself looking that up towards the end of the book. I‘m glad I read this too. 5y
74 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
mhillis
Arid Dreams | Duanwad Pimwana
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Wrap up for this week! #witreadathon #summersendreadathon #bfcr3 #bookdragons

Read 5 books this week
Arid Dreams
The Lost Daughter 🎧
The City of Ash and Red
The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness
A Greater Music

Fitness
5/5 Jazzercise classes
28km walking

wanderinglynn Way to go! 🙌🏻 5y
llawela Ooooh nice! 5y
Crazeedi Good job, and interesting reads!👏❤ 5y
See All 8 Comments
merelybookish Wow! Good job. I read that Ferrante title a few years back. It still haunts me! 5y
mhillis @merelybookish Thanks, I have to admit I only chose that book because it was short! Leda‘s actions shocked me sometimes during the story. Haunting is definitely the word for this one! 5y
IndoorDame Great week!! 5y
StayCurious You‘re doing so well! 5y
66 likes8 comments
blurb
mhillis
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I‘m so glad that one of the hosts for the Women in Translation readathon recommended The Girl Who Wrote Lonliness. Although I read Please Look After Mom, I hadn‘t heard of this book. The factories and schools, heartbreaking relationships, a blend of past and present, Korean history, a family, and what it means to be a writer.
#witreadathon #womenintranslation #wit #korea

merelybookish I really liked it too! And am glad I read it! It was so layered, especially seeing how that period was still affecting her life 20 years later. 5y
merelybookish *I will admit I found it a bit long. 5y
mhillis @merelybookish The chapters were very long! 5y
60 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
mhillis

Well I finished it! City of Ash and Red is disturbing and often disgusting, but I kept reading because it was well written. It‘s hard to describe this book, so here is a review (with spoilers) from Tor https://www.tor.com/2018/11/09/book-reviews-city-of-ash-and-red-by-hye-young-pyu...

Women in Translation readathon: the gap between original publication and translation spans at least 5 years

#witreadathon #womenintranslation #wit

UrsulaMonarch Thanks for linking to that review! I found it very helpful as I approach the halfway point of the book. 4y
38 likes1 comment
blurb
merelybookish
The Remainder | Alia Trabucco Zern
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Trying to squeeze in one last book in August and for the Women in Translation Readathon. #witreadathon

readordierachel Interesting cover! 5y
merelybookish @readordierachel @graywacke Interesting book so far! Chilean. About the aftermath of living in a dictatorship. 5y
83 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
mhillis
A Greater Music | Suah Bae
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Pickpick

Second book finished for Women in Translation readathon! I really enjoyed this book about a Korean writer in Germany. Lots of interesting references to language, books, and music.
Book with the translator credited on the cover #witreadathon #womenintranslation #wit

saresmoore This sounds really interesting! 5y
mhillis @saresmoore It might not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it! The relationships between characters were intriguing too. 5y
62 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
saresmoore
Cheri | Colette
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Pickpick

Reading this was somehow both indulgent & deeply satisfying. It was in turns lighthearted, unsentimental and emotionally raw. I am impressed by how far ahead of her time Colette was. I felt utterly transported into a view of the world, of Paris, that I‘d never considered. All of the characters are unlikeable and their lives seem truly superfluous, but there is real depth in Léa and Chéri that is only revealed in their relationship with each other.

LeahBergen Oh, yes. 😍😍 5y
Centique And now I want to read Colette... great review! 5y
100 likes3 stack adds3 comments
review
saresmoore
The Emissary | Y?ko Tawada
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Pickpick

This book is a little gem. I enjoyed everything about it from the strange dystopian premise to the undercurrent of melancholic hope, but especially the characters. The translation is excellent; Mitsutani manages to convey Tawada‘s fascinating ruminations on the nature of language and doesn‘t lose an ounce of the humor that makes the book wholly unique. It‘s just the right combination of weird, sad, and delightful. #witreadathon

batsy That final line—it feels like it's calling to me! Wonderful review 💙 5y
saresmoore @batsy It is most definitely calling to you! 5y
89 likes6 stack adds2 comments
quote
saresmoore
Cheri | Colette
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“We‘ve found each other again, she thought. Like two dogs finding the slipper they‘re in the habit of chewing. How curious. That woman is my enemy and it‘s from her my comfort comes. How bound together we are, she and I.”

An excellent description of frenemies, published in 1920.

#witreadathon

rubyslippersreads Gorgeous vintage edition! 😍 5y
MamaGina Colette was always ahead of her time 🤓 5y
saresmoore @rubyslippersreads Isn‘t it pretty? It‘s a 1951 edition. My daughter said, “Wow, Mom, that book is more than twice as old as you!” 5y
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saresmoore @MamaGina So true! 5y
Lcsmcat I love that edition! 5y
LeahBergen 😍😍 5y
Aimeesue Wow! Even naked, that's a pretty cover! Maybe it was a thing in the '50s? I have a copy of The Grapes of Wrath that's got a debossed picture on the cover. 5y
saresmoore @Aimeesue I think there‘s a good chance! I‘m looking through my vintage books and seeing a lot of debossing in the ‘50‘s. I‘d love to see a photo of your Grapes of Wrath! I have a short story collection of Steinbeck from Viking Press, 1953, but it‘s not very pretty. 5y
Aimeesue @saresmoore Tagged you in the Grapey pic. 1939 edition, though, not 1950s. 5y
Leftcoastzen Pretty edition! 5y
86 likes2 stack adds10 comments
blurb
mhillis
The Lost Daughter | Elena Ferrante
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This is the first time I‘ve finished an audiobook in one day! The Lost Daughter is a short but powerful book dealing with motherhood. Women in Translation Readathon: a book in a non traditional format 🎧 #witreadathon

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