Thank you to Bookish First for the ARC!
When I started reading The Picture Bride, a book about a young woman in Korea who is sent to marry a man in Hawaii she's never met, I had high hopes. I did not know much about the time period or the concept of "picture brides," and I was excited to find out more. My hopes were dashed almost immediately, though; I had not realized that I was reading a translation, and like many translations I have read before, this one did not read as well as I had hoped. The writing was awkward, formal, and clumsy; in particular, I was bothered by the overabundant and wordy dialogue tags, which made it hard to read conversations properly. I figured that was it; I would plow my way through the book so I could give it an honest review, but it would not be a pleasant read.
However, as I read on, this book grew on me. Something about the honest, sincere narrative combined with a time period I knew next to nothing about was refreshing and interesting. I learned a lot, and for the most part, I enjoyed the process.
While this book was not the most beautifully written one I've read in a while (and I imagine it's a much more enjoyable read in the original language), it kind of grew on me and I'm grateful that I read it.
When I started reading The Picture Bride, a book about a young woman in Korea who is sent to marry a man in Hawaii she's never met, I had high hopes. I did not know much about the time period or the concept of "picture brides," and I was excited to find out more. My hopes were dashed almost immediately, though; I had not realized that I was reading a translation, and like many translations I have read before, this one did not read as well as I had hoped. The writing was awkward, formal, and clumsy; in particular, I was bothered by the overabundant and wordy dialogue tags, which made it hard to read conversations properly. I figured that was it; I would plow my way through the book so I could give it an honest review, but it would not be a pleasant read.
However, as I read on, this book grew on me. Something about the honest, sincere narrative combined with a time period I knew next to nothing about was refreshing and interesting. I learned a lot, and for the most part, I enjoyed the process.
While this book was not the most beautifully written one I've read in a while (and I imagine it's a much more enjoyable read in the original language), it kind of grew on me and I'm grateful that I read it.