Review by Robeson Barnard -- Fighting To Breathe by Jong Yi
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Robeson Barnard
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- Latest Review: Fighting To Breathe by Jong Yi
Review by Robeson Barnard -- Fighting To Breathe by Jong Yi
[Following is a volunteer review of "Fighting To Breathe" by Jong Yi.]
Fighting To Breathe by Jong Yi is a contemporary medically-inclined novel that tackles the racial injustice and discrimination faced by minority groups in our society. The plot revolves around the story of Ginger Kim, a young Korean nurse who after enduring the military tyranny in Korea during her early years, decides to leave in search of "greener pasture". Her travails take her from Korea to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia even as far as Anchorage, Alaska. Still, the same issues are haunting her in her day-to-day activities. Despite, major adversities and pitfalls along the way, Ginger is still determined to make a difference and to try to reduce the discrimination and ridicule others like her face.
There are a lot of positives one can draw from this book; The first being of course the fact that the author gives the story life and warmth by presenting the emotions of the protagonist and making us empathize with her. This is a really good tactic because it absorbs the reader and makes you forget that this is a work of fiction rather than a true-life story. Secondly, the author employs the use of flashbacks rather than a linear storytelling method, the fact that the author also drops a major plot point or "spoiler", at the forefront of the story, captivates the attention of readers even more, as curiosity will not allow readers to put down the book until they know what leads to what or where. Also, the author does not neglect to tackle the stereotypes directed at women of Asian heritage and what the general public expects of them, and how such stereotypes are wrong and should be corrected. Furthermore, the author gives a sneak peek at the brutality encountered by freedom fighters opposing the tyrannical reign of General Jun and the stigma the victims of this reign had to face afterward.
However, no one is perfect and there are negative aspects of drawbacks which I found in this book. The first of which is the recurring use of abbreviations, which I know is commonly used in the medical profession to shorten lengthy technical words, but keep in mind that not all readers are in the medical profession and these abbreviations tend to fly over their heads. This can be very distracting for readers who are not familiar with the meanings of these acronyms. The second issue is the large character list, which isn't a problem on its own but becomes a problem if readers are finding it hard to recall the positions and roles of some of these characters, as some of them are brought in suddenly without any prior introduction and just as quickly disappear for the rest of the book leaving readers in a hopeless tangle of names and roles.
I give the book 4 out of 4 stars. All in all, it is still a well-crafted story with an unusual plot point that works well and the warmth and life which the author gives to these characters.
I recommend this book to earnest readers who are ready to tackle more serious books and want to widen their scope of knowledge of other cultures outside the stereotypes they grew up with.
******
Fighting To Breathe
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Fighting To Breathe by Jong Yi is a contemporary medically-inclined novel that tackles the racial injustice and discrimination faced by minority groups in our society. The plot revolves around the story of Ginger Kim, a young Korean nurse who after enduring the military tyranny in Korea during her early years, decides to leave in search of "greener pasture". Her travails take her from Korea to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia even as far as Anchorage, Alaska. Still, the same issues are haunting her in her day-to-day activities. Despite, major adversities and pitfalls along the way, Ginger is still determined to make a difference and to try to reduce the discrimination and ridicule others like her face.
There are a lot of positives one can draw from this book; The first being of course the fact that the author gives the story life and warmth by presenting the emotions of the protagonist and making us empathize with her. This is a really good tactic because it absorbs the reader and makes you forget that this is a work of fiction rather than a true-life story. Secondly, the author employs the use of flashbacks rather than a linear storytelling method, the fact that the author also drops a major plot point or "spoiler", at the forefront of the story, captivates the attention of readers even more, as curiosity will not allow readers to put down the book until they know what leads to what or where. Also, the author does not neglect to tackle the stereotypes directed at women of Asian heritage and what the general public expects of them, and how such stereotypes are wrong and should be corrected. Furthermore, the author gives a sneak peek at the brutality encountered by freedom fighters opposing the tyrannical reign of General Jun and the stigma the victims of this reign had to face afterward.
However, no one is perfect and there are negative aspects of drawbacks which I found in this book. The first of which is the recurring use of abbreviations, which I know is commonly used in the medical profession to shorten lengthy technical words, but keep in mind that not all readers are in the medical profession and these abbreviations tend to fly over their heads. This can be very distracting for readers who are not familiar with the meanings of these acronyms. The second issue is the large character list, which isn't a problem on its own but becomes a problem if readers are finding it hard to recall the positions and roles of some of these characters, as some of them are brought in suddenly without any prior introduction and just as quickly disappear for the rest of the book leaving readers in a hopeless tangle of names and roles.
I give the book 4 out of 4 stars. All in all, it is still a well-crafted story with an unusual plot point that works well and the warmth and life which the author gives to these characters.
I recommend this book to earnest readers who are ready to tackle more serious books and want to widen their scope of knowledge of other cultures outside the stereotypes they grew up with.
******
Fighting To Breathe
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Latest Review: Fighting To Breathe by Jong Yi
