so-soA year after Sunny disappeared, her family finds a man dead in their yard, and he seems to be connected to her. This sets off an exploration of this immigrant/first gen American family. A lot of the exploration of the family I really enjoyed, but it‘s slow to get started and the ending is overly dramatic in a way that didn‘t work for me. I feel like with reworking, this book could be really good, but it doesn‘t quite get there.
so-soI just don‘t think Kim is for me. I gave her debut a so-so as well. I appreciate the themes she explores: war trauma, immigration, generational differences, secrets, but I prefer to be shown through actions rather than told with florid (overwritten) language. 🤷🏻♀️
A mother has disappeared and a man who has her name and address written on a note is found dead in her backyard. Her husband and children plus his child must find their connection.
pickWe meet Sunny and John, Korean immigrants in LA in 1977 and follow Sunny's boredom with life and the drudgery of housekeeping & mothering. We also learn that by 1999 she has been missing for a year and John has found the body of a man in the backyard. This is not a fast paced book, even with the mystery, but rather a slow read that does a great job of capturing Sunny's lost dreams and John's drive to obtain security in their new country. 3.5/5
pickSo compelling and engrossing! Kim's first novel was a favorite & this one is even better. Heartbreaking, inspiring, complex, compassionate, a multigenerational story, mystery, & awakening.
Disclaimer, I once attended a writing workshop with this author. We would recognize one another in a random encounter but we are not in close communication.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
What We Kept to Ourselves | 
