It was okay.

i am emotionally floored. this hyper realistic novel, told through stream of consciousness presents issues of intergenerational conflict, aging, and what makes a family in a stark narrative which delivers the strongest emotional whiplash. probably the most meaningful book i’ve read in a while. 

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

concerning my daughter is a reflective read that ruminates on the status quo and life & death, all seen thru a very rare pov of an elderly woman who works as carer and whose daughter is lesbian in  south korea's very conservative ans homophobic society.

it makes for some provocative questions esp abt challenging the 'way of the world,' as the narrator puts it: wouldnt it be easier to live w/ one's head down and do whats necessary to ensure a dignified future esp in old age? it's a question that the titular mother and daughter wrestle w/ all thruout the book, compounded by the former's struggle to comprehend the latter's homosexuality. 

though the book can be painfully slow at certain points and i find the characters frustrating a lot of the time, it cant be denied that theyre written well are are fleshed out, w/ major props to kim's ability to articulate the narrator's homophobic reasoning and logic, and her gradual change thats realistic. this book made me think a lot and it provided some very uncomfortable questions and thoughts that few def would want to think abt, but nevertheless necessary.