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readingwithkt's reviews
526 reviews
New Waves: A Novel by Kevin Nguyen
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Somehow managed to race through this book, devouring it in less than 24 hours. Feel this book spoke to me at a very particular time in my life, and thus I feel I picked it up at a perfect time.
It’s both an exploration of technology - the way we use it in our lives, the way it’s designed to use us - and a portrait of a friendship/love lost - of how it is to go on when there’s a gaping hole in our lives, about how humans can try to fill such holes by whatever means necessary (alcohol, sexual relationships, overworking).
The flaws of the characters, of technology, of our modern lives, are truly the centre point of this book.
I don’t know what else to say, I low key loved this one and I’m sure it’s gonna leave me with lots of thoughts for a little while to come.
It’s both an exploration of technology - the way we use it in our lives, the way it’s designed to use us - and a portrait of a friendship/love lost - of how it is to go on when there’s a gaping hole in our lives, about how humans can try to fill such holes by whatever means necessary (alcohol, sexual relationships, overworking).
The flaws of the characters, of technology, of our modern lives, are truly the centre point of this book.
I don’t know what else to say, I low key loved this one and I’m sure it’s gonna leave me with lots of thoughts for a little while to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Car accident
Minor: Hate crime, Suicide, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and War
Your Neighbour's Table by Gu Byeong -Mo
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Your Neighbour’s Table is a really interesting little book about a communal living apartment block. We dip into each of the families individual stories, sometimes flicking between each family quite unexpectedly, and also have an overarching theme of the “communal”. There is each individual, but the collective is extremely important here. It’s a story about what it means to live with and coexist alongside others, it’s about the complications of relationships, and it’s about the way in which intimacy can be both comforting and suffocating (at different times, in unequal measures, to varying degrees).
I found the flitting back and forth between POVs quite difficult to keep track of, and it took me some time to work out who all the character were. I think for the number of POVs, a longer book would have allowed more time to get all the narrators straight. I read it as an ARC on e-reader as well which might impact how easy it was the follow the changing POVs - maybe (hopefully) that is clearer in finished (print) format.
The final scenes could have been developed further. I felt the interactions in the end were quite surface level and we didn’t go as deep into the issues between people as I had hoped we would.
Really, an interesting concept and thought provoking book but needed to be longer in my opinion to be able to be fully developed.
Glad I read it though and I’d definitely read something else from this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail