This was a bit of an unusual book to read, the main reason for its unusualness being that it’s two novellas that are loosely connected primarily by modern South Korean history and politics (especially with how it takes place around the time the Sewol ferry disaster happened in 2014), but also by grief, both personal and national. In addition to the unusual setup, I found that this was a rather dense book to get through due to its politically charged nature, which I admittedly didn’t anticipate. Much of it is commentary on modern-day South Korea, so much so that it would be helpful for the reader to have some prior knowledge of what happened in the 2010s to really understand the gravity of the situation. It was also interesting to center queerness in this book, as it added a distinct perspective to how these characters were making sense of what was happening around them.

Between the two novellas, I found the second one far more compelling, perhaps because I thought it was clearer and more grounded. The first novella (‘d’) was interesting enough, and I especially appreciated how Hwang explored themes of loss and grief (particularly the personal), but there was something about the way it was written that I struggled a bit. As for the second novella (‘There Is Nothing That Needs to Be Said’), I was intrigued by how Hwang approached themes around resistance and grief (particularly the collective). I liked how she wove in news articles and quotes from various works of literature to craft Soyoung’s distinct way of seeing the world and how they tie to the political unrest happening right outside their door. More than anything, though, I thought the ending was haunting, especially considering what followed after the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye (i.e., the 2022 presidential elections).

I think this is a book I’d like to revisit in the future, because I feel that I didn’t fully appreciate it to the extent that I could have on my first readthrough. There was a lot of information to chew on, especially given the political content.