allthatissim's reviews
460 reviews

Kim Jiyoung is me. Kim Jiyoung is almost every woman around me. Kim Jiyoung is the sum total of all the prejudices and hardships a woman has to endure in this patriarchal society!

Set in Korea, this story is not unique per day. You might have read many stories talking about patriarchy, sexism and feminism. What is unique though is it’s backed up by statistical data from the country. Throughout this Novella, I didn’t feel like I was reading the experiences of Korean women and sexism and gender discrimination they face in day-to-day life — be it be their home, education or work environment — but rather my own and so many other women. The intensity might be different, but it is all there rooted in the society.

I don’t have a brother, we are two sisters. And since childhood, I have seen the various reactions of people when they hear that there is no son. Like Jiyoung, I have seen the male members of the family getting the first servings, better things. It is not unusual and so deeply rooted that even I am ingrown in those customs.

The things we hear in schools, the discrimination we face in the working environment, and the expectations of us as a mother, are all too well similar to that of Jiyoung. Sure we have come a long way as a country, but still we have such a long path ahead of us to travel.

Jiyoung’s story is a cry for help, to make society understand the way it has been/is treating women. The ending brings the story to a full circle; it ended where it started. Cho Nam-Joo’s writing isn’t extraordinary per se, but it will enrage you and will make you see Jiyoung as yourself.

Give this book to men in your lives, give this to your sons, give this to women, for it is a reflection of the society we live in and the work we still need to do to gain gender equality. 

#kimjiyoungborn1982 #koreanliterature #chonamjoo

 What a weird funny, little book!

If you ask me what Several People Are Typing is about, in a nutshell, I would say- "I still have no idea why that happened what happened but I am glad that everything is back to what was supposed to happen." 😅

I couldn't stop reading it. It's a binge-read-esque especially if you enjoy any form of media in books. This whole book is written in Slack chat format and if you are familiar with Slack (or even with any team messaging platform), you would enjoy the digs that the author has taken on office culture and the work-from-home scenario. It reminded me of the pre-Covid era when we used to go to the office and the days were spent in office gossip 😬

There are of course lots of gifs and emoticons involved. And, surprise surprise, Slackbot is a CHARACTER! So basically the story is about a group of PR agency employees sharing their daily shenanigans and office stuff solely through Slack. Gerald is mostly working from home and he is allowed to do so because of his high productivity. But one day he somehow accidentally uploads his own consciousness into Slack and he can't get out though he asks for assistance from Help Center but for no use.

There are humourous elements, sci-fi and existential elements and they slowly creep into the story. The main focus is to show how these project communications channels, like Slack and MS Teams, have taken over communication in general in office scenarios and their best and ill effects as well.

This is a timely book I would say, considering these digital programs will keep changing over the years. But for now, I would say, this one is quite bizarre and crazy and a fun read. You would try to find a plot but actually, there is none (kind of). It is just meant for you to relax and read and enjoy things getting all crazy. You get what I mean?

I don't think this book is going to be for everyone, but if you like reading weird and fun stuff, then it is quite short and hilarious and you should give it a chance.