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Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

À propos de ma fille by Kim Hye-Jin

17 reviews

sercem_w_ksiazkach's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

 the main character is a homophobic ass and such a selfish person. she makes her daughter's sexuality about herself, wondering how could this have happened to her. she calls her daughter's girlfriend "that girl" and only stops being outwardly bigoted when her daughter literally gets mauled in an anti-gay-rights protest. and even then she doesn't care for other people who got hurt, only about herself. reading about her irritated me and i don't see value in reading this book. i just hate redeeming deadbeat parents. and if i wanted to hear homophobic bullshit i would listen to my own parents or i'd pull out a pride flag or totebag in public 
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saramdeuri's review against another edition

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4.0

very moving and thoughtful. I'm always interested in books that take me through experiences and get me close to minds that I'd never have known otherwise, and this did a wonderful job of it. really made me feel so much empathy for the mother even though I was so far removed from the way she thought, Kim Hye-Jin really knows how to bring you to look her in the eye. an ambiguous ending, but well-done. doesn't leave you yearning for more, just hoping that they'll be alright.
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shoelace's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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nad_books623's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow this was a raw story that a lot of people in the lgbtq+ community can relate to while reading. The mother was so annoying and hypocritical.
The whole time that she was reflecting towards the end of the book with the nursing home and her inner homophobia we never got to see her challenge her hypocrisy. Which, I guess makes the story more raw in a sense but still would be interested to see.
I did like the stories comment on being elderly and what happens in society when someone no longer has a purpose.
The scene when the reporters came to interview Jen was a good moment that showed how she was seen as disposable since she could not give what they wanted from her. Another moment in the book was towards the end when Jen is in the last nursing home and how the carer says they're all just going to die there always.
I think this book also discusses well how care taking is a commodity in society and that due to capitalism people who need care do not get the proper care they need.
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zmeiat's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book made me think, at times, about the movie "All about my mother"/"Todo sobre mi madre" by Pedro Almodovar. They are different from each other in presentation and in overal message, but the vibes very definitely similar.

The writting was melancholic and engaging, especially with us being placed in the head of the mother and her battle with internalized prejudices that her own daughter directly challenges. This was a very strong book about the difficulties of life and how one at the end of the day simply should live through the coming tomorrows instead of the far future. 
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kate_ka's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Die Perspektive finde ich interessant. Fand es aber dadurch, dass ich eher wie die Tochter bin, sehr schwer, mich mit der Erzählerin zu identifizieren. Glaube, es ist ein Buch, das mir mehr und mehr zeigt, je tiefer ich darüber nachdenke.
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loxeletters's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

This book is an exploration of the mind of an elderly woman who has to come to terms with the fact that her daughter is a lesbian. It's not a happy or particularly uplifting book; in fact, the protagonist is (intentionally) frustrating and unlikeable. 
A second, big part of the story is that the narrator works as a carer at a nursing home. This way, the theme of accepting other people's differences is connected to the fear of growing old alone, and of dying lonely. Another theme is that of being a person - which is discussed very explicitly in relation to the MC's patients, and implied in the way she refuses to refer to her daughter as anything but that - her daughter. Not a person of her own.
Thirdly, the book discusses capitalism, the gruelling reality of work and alienation, and living on the line to poverty.

As is typical for Korean fiction, the book is quite understated. It does not present a neat solution. The world of this book remains relatively bleak throughout its entirety. 

While the ending may be frustrating or unfulfilling to some, I enjoyed the realism of it. The beauty of female relationships shone, even in harrowing conditions. And it serves as a fruitful critique of capitalism and contemporary society.

TW for homophobia and an extremely toxic mother-daughter relationship.
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minxtte's review against another edition

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sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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seanamcphie's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lucyatoz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-Jin is a story told from the prospective of the unnamed mother. Her daughter, Green, and her girlfriend, Lane, move in with her as she struggles to understand their non-traditional life compared to that which she had with her late husband. She voices her fears that without a husband or children, her daughter will one day end up alone, just as the woman who she is the carer of, living with dementia, is. 

It is a interesting and complex character story of a mother and daughter and their struggles to understand each other across the generational divide.  
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