Rating: 
Summary: Awesome story!
Review: This book was wonderful. It really opened my eyes to how these women in Korea, and other third-world countries, are treated. It showed me that I shouldn't take the freedom I have for granted. I definately recommend this book. Although parts are really sad, it's just a real eye-opener.
Rating:
Summary: An Asian-American Perspective - A Compelling Story
Review: In spite of the criticisms directed at this book, I deemed it worth buying and adding to my library of Asian-American authors for my children. It is important to keep in mind that Elizabeth Kim began life as a child who was unacceptable to her society and had to bridge a cultural gap into another society that also did not accept her. Of particular note, a major portion of her less than full acceptance was, unfortunately, due to her own adoptive parents. It is a great personal credit on her part that she ultimately persevered in the face of these ever-present strikes against her.As a third generation American of Japanese ethnicity, I relate closely in many respects with Elizabeth Kim's biography. I, too, grew up in all-white communities in the 1950's and 1960's ' in New York and New Jersey. While reading Kim's story, I could recall the rejection, rudeness, and misconceptions of the kids I went to school with and the grown-ups who made ignorant remarks. Being female, an orphan, and having parents who were controlling, Kim did not have a foreseeable alternative ' she was trapped. Some of the most critical comments about this book are from the Korean-American community. Keep in mind that America at the time of Kim's growing up was much different from what Asian immigrants and their families enjoy in these more recent times. It was a lot tougher at the time Kim was growing up. Anyone with an Asian face was usually presumed to be Chinese and often was the target of frequent Charlie Chan stereotypical mocking. America was still recovering from two wars with Asian countries and returning veterans brought a lot of fallacies about the Orient with them. Outside of California and Hawaii, there were often no Asian groups with which young people could socialize. Kim's recollection of white rejection correlates with mine ' I know what she felt. The controversies over whether 'honor killings' were prevalent in Korea or when 'Elephant Man' was shown on television hardly deserve mention ' what is relevant is that her mother died somehow as a result of her birth and that the grotesqueness of the elephant man was something she also felt. Minor unimportant inconsistencies are the result of the recollections of a child growing up ' they should not detract from the larger message this book delivers. Readers should approach this book with a perspective of delving into Kim's feelings as an Asian whose 'parents' were trying to raise her as a white child with a white religion in an all white town. In essence, she tried so hard to be white but the whites would not completely allow her to be one of them so it did not work. It took a long time for her to be able to be herself, but when she did, life took a turn for the better. And that's the bottom line ' she did it.
Rating: 
Summary: puhleeze
Review: I'm sure that any telemarketer would love to have a list of this book's fans, since they are clearly a very trusting bunch.
Do they really believe that Ms Kim flew by Korean Airlines years before Korean Airlines was founded? Do they really think she watched "The Elephant Man" on TV with her husband years before the movie was released in theaters? Do they really believe she farmed rice in mid-winter (at the age of five!), and lived on a heated earth floor, and learned English in two days? Do they really believe she skipped a few years of school and still graduated at age 17?
Don't they wonder at how neatly - and implausibly - the book's central event manages to combine the two most important issues of international feminism in the past decade: genital mutilation and honor killings?
Most importantly, don't they realize why Doubleday still hasn't issued the book in paperback?
Rating:
Summary: Ten Thousand ENORMOUS Sorrows
Review: A truly amazing and well-written story -- Kim's ten thousand sorrows are each larger than what one person can conceivably bear. The references to Buddhism, to her mother's love, to her relationship with her daughter, are all beautiful, but the beauty pales in significance to the horrorific events of this author's life. It is a memoir that you cannot put down because you wonder what misfortunes could possibly be left to cover. Of all of the abuse and warped relationships recorded, the callousness of her Christian fundamentalist adoptive parents is what I continue to brood over. And that is because it happened in this country, where slavery and child labor are supposedly illegal, where arranged marriages are not a part of contemporary culture, and where Christians (& others) are taught to be tolerant, loving, understanding, and forgiving. Regarding the criticism surrounding the reference to her mother's murder as an "honor killing," most readers would not doubt that the grandfather and uncle must have felt justified in committing murder due to the mother's sexual disgrace, which is clearly very cultural, and a discrimination that many cultures share in common.
Rating:
Summary: Doubleday has issued a press release
Review: I just have to say that I am disappointed that ...has not altered the summary descriptions of the book, even though Doubleday released a press statement back in November 2000 that admits they did not have sufficient evidence to have stated as established fact that there is a tradition of honor killings in Korea. The most Doubelday will do is promise to change the text in the next printing so that the term "honor killing" is not used. Well, then, they never should have published it. I am a Korean American with an M.A. in East Asian Languages & Cultures, and I can attest that this book is grossly distorted with some of the worst stereotypes about Asia. Many readers cite the author's right to her own memories, particularly in America as an adoptee. Yet, the entire basis of this book's sensationalism revolves around the "honor killing" incident in Korea, and in that vein, Kim crosses the line of one's own personal memory into outrageous statements of "fact" about Korea. Despite people's protestations that this is JUST a memoir, let me remind you that the book purports to tell the "truth" about Korean culture. Ms. Kim is not giving her subjective opinion here; she is making a ludicrous accusation about an entire culture. There is a HUGE difference between saying that "Women experience discrimination in Korean society," versus killing women in Korea is "not murder, they are honor killings, sanctified by tradition." Ms. Kim is quite literally stating that Korea permits and endorses the killing of women for the sake of family honor, a gross error even if it were a work of fiction. This is NOT memory, but a statement to be read erroneously as FACT. But Americans prefer to blur the difference as a "fine point." It's just memory, for heaven's sake: Who cares if Ms. Kim attributes a barbaric and backwards cultural practice to Korea when it really doesn't exist? It's her right. Domestic abuse and violence against women have occurred in every country, including this one. But if I were to write a memoir about the death of my mother in the U.S. and attribute it to America's "honor killing" tradition, I would be publicly ridiculed and have zero chances at finding a publisher who would buy it. I could not hide behind the weak excuse that "this is my life" or "this is my memory," because the facts are simply wrong! But I guess it's OK to say it about Korea since we are so ignorant about it and form our opinions about other countries from racist propaganda, TV stereotypes and bad books like these. The Associated Press already printed an article about the controversy surrounding this issue, and numerous Korean scholars, experts and several national magazines have pointed out egregious errors in the story and the distorted misrepresentations, particularly in the first 1/3 of this book. One scholar has collected more than 15 pages of errors! Korea, like any country, has its problems and its cultural sticking points. But ignorance of this magnitude is inexcusable. The majority of you who are defending it, quite frankly, do not speak, read or write Korean and know very little about Korea. A minority who DO know Korea think that it's OK to criticize Korea for it's male-dominated society with this simple, minor "gaffe" about Korea. That is a mistake. To allow this misrepresentation to continue is to perpetuate gross misunderstanding and ignorance that insults and slanders the people and descendants of Korea, including myself. But rather than discern the truth, we would all rather have a "good read" at the expense of common respect and decency.
Rating:
Summary: Well written and moving
Review: I found this to be a compelling and believable account that rang true for me. It doesn't put Christianity in a positive light and perhaps that makes it hard for some readers to swallow. This is her reality and nobody else's--she bares her pain in an honest and refreshing tale that is very inspirational.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: My mother bought me this book 2 years ago for a research project that I was doing on Korea. It was the first one I read for my research; probably not the most brilliant of ideas since it didn't have a lot that I was looking for, but once I started I couldn't put it down. It just captivated me and forced me to read on and on.
Yes, I thought that the author's constant whining about her situations and how bad they were got to be somewhat repetitive, but then look at the title. "Ten Thousand Sorrows" warns us that it's not going to be this happy book. Still, I found myself laughing with her and sympathizing with her at parts. I think this book, no matter its shortcomings, is well worth the money and time
Rating:
Summary: I will never forget this book..
Review: Maybe because I listened to an unabridged audio version of this book, read in the authors own voice, I have a kinder view of the rather flat, unadorned, almost childlike, journalistic style that has drawn criticism... I found the author's direct, repetitive, style soothing and comforting and almost necessary, just for me to be able to endure the hideious reality of the narritive. I am going to buy this book, keep it, and refer to it everytime I think I am having a bad day. For some reviewers to criticize this woman for reaching out and choosing the wrong relationships is appaling. This book is a tribute to the will to survive, the power of love and the human capacity for forgiveness.
Rating: 
Summary: Riveting story, ruined only by.........
Review: ......a whiny author with no writing ability. Yes, Elizabeth Kim's story is AMAZING and worthy of being shared with a multitude of readers. I just wish someone else had done the actual writing for her. The story starts out great but then descends to the depths of the authors nauseating complaints about literally every experience that she has ever had in her entire life. It is simply not believable. She never stops to share a good experience, but is instead still caught up in blaming every bad experience she ever had on her adoptive parents. The focus never comes off the negative in her life which is, quite frankly, tiresome.
Kim's writing skill is also not strong. She is NOT a storyteller. She thus convinces us of pitifully little. Those experienced in story-writing catch her poor technique immediately. Those not experienced in story-writing may not be able to define the poor technique, but undoubtedly perceive its effects.
Overall, it's tragic that Kim's story is so worthy, but not told right. If you deceide to read it, don't lose sight toward the end of the book, of her truly unbelievable early experiences, which are guaranteed to move even a hardened reader.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to like
Review: Wow. Reading all the spirited debate here, I found myself asking just what makes a book worth reading (or not). And, with this one, I found myself reviewing it on several levels: As a summer-type book that gets the reader turning pages, it's pretty good. If you care about writing style, it's just so-so. The poetry and songs were nice, however. If you're looking for an accurate, historical treatise on honor killings in Korea, well, as others have pointed out, it doesn't wash well with what we know about Korean history. Maybe Omma's fate is recounted accurately, but it is not fair to generalize the event to all of Korean culture during that time. I found myself wishing that this were written as a novel and not as a memoir. I think a lot of the problems I had with it would have been resolved thusly. For example, had it been a novel, the author would be given license with the facts. And she could have extended the character's suffering to larger questions about cultural differences, fundamental Christianity, how much childhood affects the choices we make as adults, etc. If you read this as a memoir (with all the credibility a reader is supposed to attach to it), then it does become self-pitying and, well, incredible. People live their lives in shades of gray; even those who have suffered the bleakest, darkest circumstances know that how you deal with/respond to your life experience is what determines your future. Kim doesn't appear to want to accept this responsibility. Even if her entire rendering of events is true (which seems hard to believe), Kim comes across as reveling in Victim Mode. I really wanted to like this book, especially because I had hoped it would cover some of the experience of modern-day immigrants to America. But if failed woefully in this regard as well. I just don't think her thoughts were very introspective, and I don't feel she has overcome her angst or redeemed herself in any way.
|
