March 22, 2017

Everything Belongs to Us - Yoojin Grace Wuertz


Penguin Random House, February 28, 2017.



Four Stars



Everything Belongs to Us is an intimate portrait of two young women in Seoul, South Korea, as they come of age in 1978 – and it is also the broader story of a young nation gaining power and looking to prove itself on a global level. Jisun and Namin come from very different circumstances, reflecting the socioeconomic stratification of South Korea in the 1970s, and yet they continually find themselves drawn together. The two contrasting perspectives work together to form a fuller picture of life in Seoul.


Jisun comes from a wealthy family, led by her successful, domineering father. She lives in a mansion overlooking the city, and has never wanted for anything that money can buy. Rebelling against her father’s extreme control, Jisun begins participating in various political protests, including one in which hundreds of factory girls take off their uniform tops in a public square to fight for basic labour rights. However, no matter how passionately Jisun works for the cause, she will always be an outsider to the lower classes that she protests alongside.


Unlike Jisun, Namin lives in a poor, crowded neighbourhood, where her parents run a food cart from dawn until dusk and her sister works as one of the “factory girls” that Jisun has been protesting with. Namin is her family’s only hope to gain financial success – they are sacrificing everything so that she can graduate and eventually attend medical school. Namin is a brilliant student and her studies are her only focus – until her sister gets pregnant and abandons the baby, leaving Namin to stay home and take care of him. Namin’s childhood friend Jisun offers her financial help with the baby, but Namin is too proud to accept.


Before the baby took Namin’s life off course, she was part of a prestigious social club called the Circle. The club is headed by Jisun’s older brother and it provides access to the wealthy class by other social climbers. Through the Circle, Namin meets a male student named Sunam, who admires her drive and eventually convinces her to date him. However, when Namin becomes too busy with school and family obligations, Sunam begins to find Jisun – and her family’s prestige – irresistible. There are clear parallels between public and private life, as the ambitions of the students mirror the nation of South Korea and its willingness to become prosperous at any cost.


This novel was unexpected, but surprisingly engaging. It’s not a historical setting that I know much about, so I had no preconceived notions about the plot. Jisun and Namin are so different, with distinct, self-aware voices, which makes them believable and convincing. The exploration of the authoritarian government and the emergence of socio-political discontent was interesting and never heavy-handed – the political issues are woven into the story in a natural way. At times I would have liked more of an emotional connection to the characters, as their inner thoughts sometimes seemed flat – but overall, I found this to be a great read by a promising new author.


I received this book from Penguin Random House and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

No comments:

Post a Comment