The Magical Language of Others - E.J. Koh

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⭐ 7.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

This is a memoir, but written in a poetic, literary way, which made me once again feel like a big dummy. Eunji was born in the States, but her parents moved back to Korea for a job when she was 15, leaving her in the States with her older (but still teenaged) brother.

The focus is on her relationship with her mother, and the book includes letters written to her by her mother, translated by the author. A major theme is also language, and how hard it can be to connect through language, especially if you don't share a first language. I can imagine a lot of people being really touched and affected by this, especially Asian people, for whom being separated from their parents is a pretty common thing. But I prefer my memoirs with more narrative drive, whereas this just seemed to pick and describe a few scenes from her life, and I couldn't always see the significance. A good book, just not for me.

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