Helpful Score: 4
This is the first appearance on the American literary scene of Chang Rae Lee who writes of the trials endured by his immigrant Korean American hero: his outsider status, his confusion over conflicting loyalties, and his love for his American wife. Beautifully written, so much so that I literally wept over the tragedies narrated.
Helpful Score: 2
Cool book...New York City recently put this on a city wide reading campaign, I believe.
Helpful Score: 2
The story of Korean American Henry Park, forever uncertain of his place, a perpetual outsider looking at American culture from a distance. A man of two worlds, he's beginning to fear that he has betrayed both and belongs to neither. (Autographed copy)
Helpful Score: 2
Good characters...reminiscent of Invisible Man by Ellison
This is an exceptional book. I recently read "Aloft", another of Lee's books, and I liked this one many times better than Aloft. The story is both unique and informative, giving the reader a feel for the Korean immigrant's experience in the US. It was pretty gripping, this is not really my usual favorite, but it was intriguing and kept my attention late into the night. Very interesting characters, I especially liked the relationships between the main characters. This is gritty without being sad.
