I read Steph Cha’s first novel a few months ago and in that time, I’ve discovered her work outside of this series is as important as the series itself. She’s listed as the “noir” editor for the LA Review of Books and it appears she writes for the LA Times on a weekly basis. Her column in the Times which covered Linda Fairstein’s unfortunate history as a prosecutor in the Central Park Five case* (and her continuously unrepentant attitude for how the case was handled) helped inspire the Mystery Writers […]
A buzzing sound began in my brain
This book came to me by way of Amazon Prime’s First Reads program, so it was free, which was the correct price for it. I did keep wanting to love it, but fundamentally I hated it. Here is what it had going for it: it was a very fast read. A Small Revolution is the story of a young Korean-American woman – our narrator, Yoona – who does a program in the summer between high school and college that brings Korean-Americans to South Korea for […]
Kinda missed the Big Revolution
I’ve had a pretty mixed go of things with the Kindle First free book selections, and this one falls slightly above the middle for me. I was in the mood for something with an historical footing, and the off-beat structure of this drew me in very quickly, though it disappointed in the ultimate execution of the story. The story takes place over two timelines, one short afternoon in the present, and over several weeks as recalled by the main character. Yoona, our narrator, is being […]
Great Expectations
In Free Food for Millionaires, by Min Jin Lee, Casey Han, a Korean American immigrant in New York City, struggles with being an Americanized daughter in a traditional Korean household. Unlike her younger sister, Tina, Casey fights against her parents’ expectations of her. For example, her parents, especially her mother, are devout Christians, but Casey enjoys casual sex and has even had an abortion. And although Casey graduated from Princeton because it was what her parents wanted/expected, she still hasn’t decided what she wants to […]