Reviews with content warning for Violence - À propos de ma fille

This is an interesting little book. Concerning My Daughter is a Korean novel which is narrated by an older woman who is struggling with her daughter - known as Green through the book, despite the mother resenting this nickname - living a life she doesn't recognise, as a gay politically active young woman. Green and her girlfriend Lane end up living with the mother, who also spends her days caring for the elderly as an agency care worker, meaning she is forced to grapple with both a relationship she doesn't recognise and her belief that by staying quiet and sticking to the status quo is the best way to live a happy life.

It's hard to spend time in the head of someone so deeply homophobic but who still claims to love her daughter and want the best for her, but it was a perspective that was interesting to be forced to grapple with by the author. As was the insight into the gruelling, cost saving adult care world that the narrator works within, forcing her to grapple with her impending mortality and the risk of becoming invisible and unknown as you age.

It did feel that this book didn't quite have the depth it needed to really fly in exploring the issues that it wants to - ideas are introduced and then disappear and we never really get to know any of the side characters.

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sunflowerwork's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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bibliozord's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A perfect book for socialist baby lesbians in crisis. No I will not elaborate!

This one hits a lil too close to home for me because I too currently work in healthcare with a woman who has memory loss and I too am gay and have a girlfriend and I too do not like my roommate and I also do not have children. I am all of these characters. So extra points for being relevant to me and the life I currently live but who knows how I'll feel about it next year. I like the way the emotions are expressed. Even though it's a translation of a language I don't know I feel they did the original justice.

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leanneymu's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A really compelling read, all about cultural homogeny, LGBTQ+ visability, and trans-generational trauma in modern day south Korea. Kim Hye-Jin is excellent at making us understand how the narrator's upbringing and culture have shaped her views, and even though she isn't completely enlightened by the end of the novel, it feels like she's moving towards a place where she can be happy for her daughter and her daughter's partner. In that way, it felt very real and grounded - people can change, but it takes time, and Kim Hye-Jin understands this perfectly.

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

My grandma should read this.

This book really evoked emotions in me, so much so that I had to rate it 'challenging' because the main character's stubborn homophobia really irked me at times. The story is sad, yet very realistic, and it feels so surreal that this kind of (institutional) discrimination is rather mild when compared globally, as homosexuality is already legal in South Korea.

I think the narrative of a homophobic mother was a great idea, as it forces the reader to step in her shoes — not that it made me understand her, but I couldn't dismiss her feelings either as she wasn't just a one-dimensional hater. It also showed how some people deem themselves as good people: despite the mother actively helping the sick and elderly, she couldn't give her own daughter the same treatment just because she was a lesbian.

I still wanted her to have more character development than just going from disgust to tolerance — she still couldn't quite accept the situation in the end, but it does go well with the sad reality, though...

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angryglitterwitch's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This absolutely ripped my heart out in just 150 pages - first book that's made me cry in 2023 👌

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