Rating: 4.5 / 5
When I pulled a prompt for a work of translated fiction, I decided to go for a double duty pick and grab a Korean book for #ReadTheWorld21 while I was at it. Thankfully I stumbled on a translated thriller that sounded very intriguing!
THE GOOD SON by You-Jeong Jeong begins with Yu-Jin waking up to a phone call from his brother asking if everything is all right. A bit disoriented, Yu-Jin takes a bit o clue into the fact that he is covered in blood with no recollection of how that happened. As he wanders out of his room, he discovers his mother dead, lying in a pool of blood. He doesn’t know if his absent memory is a result of his seizure disorder or what else has happened. Slowly faint recollections of his mother calling to him start to come back as he seeks to find out what happened.
This was a very dark and very gripping read! We are living inside Yu-Jin’s head, discovering new clues and new information as he uncovers it. Just like him, we don’t know if he has done something himself that he has hidden from himself or if something else has gone on that he just can’t remember. He and his family both seem to have secrets to uncover.
This is a good book to go into blind so I don’t want to say too much about it, but it is definitely one I’d recommend for fans of dark thrillers!
Reading Challenge Categories:
#AroundtheYearin52Books – a book eligible for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
DG Reads 