Showing posts with label #bookreview #whatwekepttoourselves #nancyjooyounkim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #bookreview #whatwekepttoourselves #nancyjooyounkim. Show all posts

What We Kept To Ourselves by Nancy Joo youn Kim

 




The book as a whole had my emotions all over the place for so many different reasons. It is not only focused on a stranger's identity, a failed dream and a history that had made so many men killed but also on a wife's emotions and how she feels as a human being.

Kim Jung Ho and his wife, Sunhee, were two refugees, children of war who had immigrated in the 70s from Korea. America was a promising country that could offer the adventure of a lifetime. But nearly two decades, Sunhee aka Sunny clearly couldn't handle the marriage anymore. Her loneliness, grief and the hours that she spent in another person's dream have clawed her sanity. She just left the house leaving also her two children.

No one wanted to talk about it until a body was found behind the loquat tree in Kim's yard and nearby lay a white envelope with the words 'Sunny Kim' on it. The death of Ronald James was like the point of bringing up old wounds. They believe that their mother's disappearance had something to do with RJ's death. It seems she had hidden some kind of secret from her family.

Overall, it's an emotionally gripping read for fans of the melodramatic genre with a slow-paced story. The novel is presented in alternating chapters that jump back and forth between periods of painstaking journey. 
4.5 ⭐️

Thanks to @definitelybooks #pansing for the review copy. Opinions are my own 💙 

*Available at all major bookstores in Singapore and Malaysia and their online stores