Reviews

Black Flower by Young-Ha Kim

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menkswald's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

epiphany_ori's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

minheepeaches's review against another edition

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really interesting book, but also plain. i feel bored with the history and factual writing despite it being an interesting slice of not so told history. i’ll come back to it. just not the time rn.

solachi's review against another edition

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3.0

"The black guns on the sides of the ships glistened with oil"

Kim Young Ha's novel 'Black Flower' focuses on the aftermath of Japan-Russo battle during 1904-05 where Japan seized Seoul, won Russia albeit losing 70,000 men in the war. The Koreans who wanted to survive the wrath of Japanese, fled to a strange land called Mexico on the ship Ilford.

Divided into 3 parts, first one goes on for the 60% of the book, vividly narrating the lives of 1033 people on the ship, irrespective of their Korean origin - nobles, aristocrats, slaves, servants.

The plot is supposed to revolve around the star crossed love track between Kim Ijeong, a lower born & To Yeonsu, a noble. But, somewhere along the dragging, history dumped narration, both the characters go unnoticed, unimportant.

Kim Young Ha successfully pens downs the exploitation of Koreans who were forced to work under slavery contract for lower wages in different haciendas. Their plight included women getting bought and sold, interracial marriage - Koreans marrying Mayans.

What did I like? I loved the character alignment - a teenage boy, a church father who has renounced Catholicism, a thief, a band of soldiers, a noble Yi family, eunuchs, a shaman, and a whole lot of people from various backgrounds, breaking the stereotype of nobility in Korea.

Would I recommend this? Yes. People who are history geeks, need to read this one. Those who want to get enlightened about the Japan-Russo war, this is an apt pick. But, if you are in need of an easy, light read, this isn't for you. I felt this book weighing on my shoulder for over a month.

Rating - 3/5 ⭐

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