Rating: 
Summary: Ten Thousand Sorrows
Review: What a story! Story being the operative word. This really is an embittered tale of a woman who grew up in an isolated country where any non-korean, let alone a mix-bred girl would have sorrows. But are we meant to beleive it all? How can someone simply put pen to paper and spin a biography without ever providing support or documentation to support any of her claims. Cleverly, Ms. Kim can not recall any dates, names, places, locations, historical or biographical data to place herself or any of the situations she describes. Yet she is able to go into great detail describing her beautiful touching memories of her mother and childhood. As someone who has lived in Korea for a number of years and seen the current treatment of non-Koreans there is no doubt that life would have been difficult many years ago. Ms. Kim is able to remember all the elegant traditions and ceremony of living in korea and at the same time be quite dismissive of Koreans and their history. Ms. Kim is unable to face the reality of what her mother was back in the 1950's. Its patently obvious that any single woman who leaves the Korean country farm to move to Seoul has more experience than Ms. Kim wants to beleive. Certainly, any Korean woman who was fraternizing with US military personnel in the 50's was a "hostess girl", there is really no doubt about that. For Ms. Kim to blindly disregard that and not discuss or reflect upon it as a possibility brings into question all of her accounts. Ms. Kims angelic characterization of her mother, without any dissection of her character and her steadfast denial of her past lifestyle insults critical readers. True, some great tragedy may have befallen her mother. She may well have been murdered for bearing a child out of wedlock, or for simply being a prostitute, but there is no discussion of fact. The whole book becomes a littany of questionable possibilities, half-truths, and dubious tales. It becomes obvious that Ms. Kim is embittered with her childhood past and this is her therapy. Who knows if her mother was murdered? Perhaps her mother dropped her off at the orpahanage like the hundreds of thousands of other honyol. Mix bred Korean-American middle aged men and women can still be seen in Seoul today, driving taxis, buses, on construction sites. The life of a honyol must have been terrible in Korea and still today when you see them on the street you can't help but feel pity for their lot in life. This is why I have trouble digesting Ms. Kim tale. Luckily she was adopted,but her bitterness at having being left alone has never left her and it becomes apparent as you plow through this. There is an Korean expression "kongjupyong" which means "the princess syndrome" , it affects those who beleive they should deserve more than they get, or who are selfish, or demand attention and sulk when they are ignored. I'm afraid Ms. Kim suffers from this. Ms. Kims story wouldn't have had half the impact if it wasn't full of these unprovable situations. But, then her biography wouldn't be a life full of misery and sorrow but just a sad, common tale of childhood.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulously Compelling and Touching!
Review: I read Elizabeth Kim's account of her horrible life with fascination, but some familiarity. As someone who grew up in a Christian fundamentalist community, I recognized the sick and abusive nature of her adoptive parents and grandmother. How sad that so many years of her life were wasted in total misery. I haven't read a memoir as touching since Angela's Ashes. It is truly a masterpiece. It is fortunate for Ms. Kim that she appears to have overcome the emotional and physical abuse to which she was subjected. This is an astonishing story. I hope there will be a movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but not great, memoir
Review: I am very torn in my evaluation of this book. I don't want to appear to discount the tough times that the author suffered, first as a "mixed-race" in Korea, then at the orphanage, then with her ultra-religious adoptive parents and, later, in an abusive marriage. However, as several other earlier reviewers have noted, there are many holes in the story, and other "facts" which appear inherently questionable.This memoir appears to be the cathartic process of mid-life psychotherapy, including childhood "memories" which may or may not be accurate. While the apparent (but unstated) dates in the book lead me to believe that she left Korea around age 4 or 5 (see the cover photo, taken in the US), her detailed recollections about her experiences in Korea are too vivid. Also, while her parents were wholly unprepared for adopting a Korean infant, and apparently lacked any sensitivity, it is really hard to believe that this toddler learned English in a few days and the piano in a month. As did other reviewers, I found her failure to refer to any dates, and the lack of identity of her parents, ex-husband, or anyone else to also affect some of the credibility. (If she lived in a small unidentified desert town, how did she end up so close to the beach when she took her daughter out of school one day (in August? ) to go to the beach?) Clearly, she must not have been trying to protect her adoptive parents since they are still alive, and their friends and fellow church members surely know who they are. This memoir is interesting with regard to its depiction of growing up essentially a non-believer in a Fundamentalist Christian home in a small desert town, and the hypocrisy of her family and church. Her parents appear cold and cruel. However, I am not sure how complete these recollections are, especially in light of her present perception that her parents have now made nearly a 180 degree turn in their attitude. Clearly, Ms. Kim has been psychologically scarred by her early experiences (her admitted-self mutilation is a clear sign of a borderline personality), but I was not left with the feeling that her story is representative of the experience of other Korean adoptees. Finally, although Ms. Kim is a journalist by trade, this book is not very well-written. Many sections are repetitive, the story is hard to follow because it jumps around chronologically, and the last psychotherapy section is overall negative and written in a "stream of consciousness" style. Overall, this book would have been far more compelling if it had been written in a more credible fashion.
Rating:
Summary: a strange book
Review: ... I also found very strange that there are no dates or places in this book. I understand there is law reason not to give real people names. But why can't Elizabeth Kim tell us what year she was adopted? What state in USA she grew up in? Also, I am a Korean woman who grew up in quite a poor family in a suburb of Seoul, and the country that Elizabeth Kim describes seems so strange to me. For example she says she ate rice every day, even though she was very very poor. We were not as poor as many Koreans but we only had rice on special days. Many days we had nothing at all. That was in the late sixties. Korea was even poorer in the early sixties, so how could she eat rice every day? Finally, I cannot understand the house she lived in. She says it had earth floor but was heated by ondol! Ondol is a Korean system to heat a stone floor. How can you heat an earth floor? There are every page so many strange things like this in the book. ... [T]his is not a real memoir, more like a novel. Last thing: I never heard of honor killings in Korea. This does not mean they never happened. But how can she say that honor killing is long accepted in Korea? We dont even have a word in Korean for this! This is unfair to Korea and makes me more angry. I think Elizabeth Kim is using American ignorance of Korea. I hope American people will learn about my country's good things and bad things from a better book.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling and Moving
Review: I wish for Elizabeth Kim's sake that this wrenching memoir of her life could have been fiction. I have cried innumerable times rereading her book. The exquisite writing and powerful details make for a crushing and yet redeeming experience. I feel in awe of her and all who have suffered and found the strength to survive and grow into loving adults. I also admire her unflinching honesty in revealing the horrors she experienced in her families in America and Korea. Many of us might deny or sugar-coat such terrible things, but Elizabeth Kim does not. It doesn't matter if one has never experienced anything similar; Elizabeth Kim's memoir speaks to the vulnerability and precious hopes and dreams of all children. I recommend this book for its haunting beauty, stark truth, and the heart-opening experience that it creates long after the covers are closed.
Rating:
Summary: Ten Thousand Sorrows
Review: Ten Thousand Sorrows is one of the most compelling and heart felt novels I have ever read. Elizabeth Kim captivates her audience with her honesty and willingness to relive her life experiences through the eyes of the reader. Her writing style enables the reader to gain insight into her emotions and feelings and shows her strength as she was able to ameliorate her situation into something beautiful. I was drawn to this book because I am also a Korean adoptee. But you don't have to be an adoptee to appreciate this well written and memorable novel.
Rating:
Summary: A dishonest representation of Korea and Adoption
Review: As a fellow Korean Adoptee (born in Seoul in 1972... abandoned on a street corner) I am always thrilled to read anything by a fellow Korean (let alone adoptee). However, I am not only disappointed but offended by this novel of fiction. First of all I found it interesting that no dates were given. I do not know how old MS. Kim is however I know that Harry and Bertha Holt began the first international adoption out of Korea in the 1950's after the Korean War. These were landmark adoptions and very public. Also, there is no such thing as "Honor Killings" in Korea while they do take place in other countries. I find it difficult to believe that Ms. Kim was able to retell such events with such detail as they would have occured while she was below the age of 5. Having worked in the field of child abuse I know for a fact that children do not comprehend times of trama with such detail and adult reasoning. I find it even more unlikely due to the fact she was relying on her memories only (lack of another person to discuss the details with). Having a Romanian brother who is struggling with learning English I believe it impossible for Ms.Kim to have learned English in less then a week...let alone comprehension.I am saddened that America is being led to believe this story. As a work of fiction it is at the best a plea for empathy. However, I fear it does more damage to us, adopted Koreans by continuing the misunderstandings of our culture and our experiences. I urge you to over-look the facade of drama and concentrait on what you know about human development... you don't have to take my word for it... listen to your own gut... I'm sorry Ms. Kim but your details have too many loop holes and untruths for me to buy it. Unfortunatly I already bought the book.
Rating:
Summary: OUTSTANDING BOOK
Review: This is the most compelling book I have ever read! My emotions were captured as the story unfolded and, it is written so well, that I suffered along with Ms. Kim as she described her life. When I finished reading it, I put it down, turned to my husband and said, "This is the most incredible book I've ever read" - and I am a big reader! After that I was speechless as I tried to absorb all of my emotions. How can I ever thank Ms. Kim for offering us this memoir! I would like to know more about her future years and her daughter, Leigh, so I hope she'll write more.
Rating:
Summary: Could Not Stop Reading
Review: I read this book in two sittings in a twenty-four hour period. It was very difficult to put down. Elizabeth Kim has a beautiful writing style and her horrific story was told as though she was speaking directly to the reader. I am in awe of the strength of this human spirit. One thing I'll take with me from her book is how the smallest kindness may save someone else. You never know how a small action on your part may mean the world to another person. The epilogue of her book proves this, and also her brief experience with the man who flew from Korea to Hawaii with her before her adoption. Thank you, Elizabeth, for telling your story. I admire you very much.
Rating:
Summary: great reading
Review: the horrors of her childhood was so painful to witness with her. her feelings were crystal clear in which she expressed how she felt as a child. reading her story of a life time of pain and discovery was both touching and inspiring.
|
