Saturday, August 1, 2015

Re Jane by Patricia Park

Rating: 3.0

Half Korean and half American, Jane was shuttled off to her uncle in the States after her mother died and her grandfather refused her. This supposedly is a cultural retelling of Jane Eyre but it is fluffy and definitely isn't worthy of the comparison. That being said, it was still enjoyable as a beach read. I found two things very annoying:

  1. when she would break the third wall "Reader, let me tell you...."
  2. that whether Jane was speaking English or Korean, her grammar was 'very not good'. I could understand her Korean not being perfect but I didn't think she would speak in broken English (and that wasn't just when she was angry).
I did enjoy the capturing of her cultural challenges in both America and Korea as well as the many Korean foods, phrases that the author included.d It was entertaining but not a must read.

4 comments:

  1. jeanaAugust 3, 2015 at 5:42 AM

    Hey Elle,
    My book club is going to be submitting books for consideration next month. I know you are in a book club. I was wondering if you could suggest a few books that have elicited the best discussions? Thanks, Jeana

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    1. Elle Is For LivingAugust 3, 2015 at 11:02 AM

      Interesting question. Looking back through the books we read this year, the ones that stand out were: Sense of an Ending had a LOT of discussion (we couldn't agree on the ending which was fun) The Translator by Nina Schuyler. Tomorrow night we will be discussing The Nightingale and I expect that will have some good discussion. I want to pick The Storyteller for a future club pick as I think that will make a great discussion. Sometimes I am surprised there isn't better discussion for some books. Maybe it is the facilitator as well as the mood of the participants? I will be interested to hear what picks your group comes up with.

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  2. jeanaAugust 3, 2015 at 3:59 PM

    Thanks for the suggestions. I agree with you that the quality of discussion can be due to discussion leader and even sometimes just the time of year affects the discussion. Our best recent discussion was actually yesterday when we met to talk about To Kill a Mockingbird (our classic read this year, we are trying to include some classics). I agree Sense of an Ending would be a good discussion. I usually do not submit books that I have read (usually I research unread books) but I may make an exception. I will let you know what we choose once it is announced. Thanks again for ideas.

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    1. Elle Is For LivingAugust 3, 2015 at 11:06 PM

      I am not sure if you have read it but, right now I am reading Kent Haruf's Plainsong. I already know this is going to make it onto my "Buy For Mum" list as well as my August favorites and I am only 30% of the way in. I think it would make a good discussion book and especially his writing style.

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