jwrosenberg69's reviews
319 reviews

I loved the book. The first third was tough for me, as I thought it was slow. But I kept going because of all the positive things I had heard about the book. But when it switched between the the only chapters in the book, it really took off. I enjoyed it, and was a little sad when I was done. While I am sure you can read many other reviews about the characters and quality of Adam Johnson’s writing (terrific), one of the things that fascinated me was the insight to daily life in North Korea. I kept thinking, how does he know this to such detail? At the end of the book, in his acknowledgments he mentioned how he spent time there, so there is that answer. Thank you Mr. Johnson, for such a great book and a peek into a culture that’s always fascinated me, albeit for how such awful people could stay in power and how they could brainwash their citizens. Having speakers in every apartment for daily announcements is unreal.

This was a very personal read for me as I have had my own demons in the past (none as to the extent in the book). But this book was well written, and compelling enough that I read it fairly quickly. It opened my eyes further to the drug epidemic in this country (and I though they were open wide already), and it also helped me understand where black tar heroin had come from and the story of the pill scourge of middle america. It is not a fun read my any means, but it enlightening, and at the end offers hope.

I enjoyed this book. It was particulalry fun to read a “whodunit” between two time periods, twenty years apart. The characters were very interesting, and I kept at it and read the book quickly. I also like that the author was a structural engineer and she put her knowledge into the book but didn’t overdo it. I was a little disappointed at the end, without giving anything away, I would have wanted to know more about the last character mentioned.

I’m not sure how I came upon this book, but by reading the description, I just knew I had to read it. I was not disappointed. I have read other reviews and agree there could be too much sex, and why were all the past lives in China, etc. But the past lives were such compelling stories that this did not bother me in the least. In fact, I was sometimes disappointed to get back to Wang after reading such intricate fascinating tales in ancient China. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history, a good long intertwined tale, and one that will keep you guessing. I did not know who was writing the letters until it was revealed. Enjoy!