Story: 3.5 / 10
Characters: 8.5
Setting: 6
Prose: 7.5

Tags: Suicide, suicide assistance, brotherhood, women, love, swinging ( )

This novella came to my attention on a random list that I found on the net somewhere. I'm not sure if I still have the list and I can't recall what website I found it on. Anyway, I decided to read it next as I fancied something a little off the wall and it also means I get to tick another country off the list. This book was a gift from someone and I sometimes wonder what they think about my mental state when I read books like this.

It's a bit tricky to review the book as the story is pretty strange and in places nasty. Sometimes the nastiness in a book really feels like it is there for effect only but I thought it worked well here. It's not over done but it does catch the attention and I found myself re-reading a few bits to make sure I read what I thought I had.

I also really liked the concept of a person who moves from place to place finding and helping people who wish to commit suicide. It's a delightfully dark idea and something which really appeals to my mind. Personally, I would have preferred a bit more plot but that probably would have spoiled the book.

A warped but interesting book.

Ohh, and the cover is gorgeous, it would be an incredible tattoo but would require one hell of an artist to make it work. ( )

It's hard to put into words why Young-ha Kim's novel was so effective or so emotionally draining, but it was, and it was an excellent read all together. It has me very excited about his other English translated works. ( )

Such is a shame. This undernourished story is intriguing, though only a germ of a novel. Given my effusive lust for Korean cinema, I was excited to find Young-Ha Kim's debut on a remainder table for two dollars. What resulted is actually more akin to a screenplay than any plumbing of the darkened corridors of the mind. The suicide assistant would be a perfect role for Lee Byung-hun: shit, he's played variations on the role a number of times. That said, this clumsy collision of art, death and ennui didn't move me.

Ruminating on this a for a spell, I still love the section abroad much more than the snowstorm scene. Being dulled by vehicular speed, sex and stimulus, the characters look for the elegant departure. ( )

Hồi đó mình vừa đọc vừa lên mạng tìm tranh để nhìn, không biết trong cuốn này có nhắc đến mấy bức tranh nữa. ( )