This is a very strange book and I'm still not 100% how I feel about it. I do understand the notion behind it - a woman having to conform to society's standards, especially in Korea. But I just couldn't quite connect with it.
Oh Young-a is a likeable woman. She's a kindergarten teacher, a friend, and a girlfriend. All of which she does with a smile and with one goal in mind - to make people believe she's happy and 'normal'. But what is normal and why does she have to behave this way?
After a run-in with one of her student's mother, she ends up visiting the Seohyang Medical Research Centre, looking for some help with depression. After a strange treatment, which promises to make her 'better', Young-a ends up in a spin of disastrous events. From lashing out to shouting, becoming brutally honest and giving people a few 'home-truths', Young-a becomes an even more honest version of the person she's been hiding below the surface. I kind of liked her. She really was sick of putting up with everyone else's nonsense!
This book really is about the weight of conforming to society's beliefs and expectations, and the damage it can have on ourselves. It was weird, interesting and somewhat shocking, but unfortunately I just couldn't connect with it fully.
어쩌면 당연하면서도 혐오스럽고 강압적인 인간의 본질을 적나라하게 드러내는 책이다. 읽으면서 내가 과연 어떤 사람이고 무엇을 원하는지 나에게 자유란 무엇인지 고민할 수 있다.
한번 읽은 사람으로서는 좋은데 두번 읽었을 때도 같은 느낌일지는 잘 모르겠다. 책을 덮었을 때는 다시 읽고 싶지만 되돌아보면 소장을 고민하게 되는 책. 한번 읽어보고 시간을 두고 앞서 말한 책에서 다루는 주제가 고민이고 계속 이 책이 생각난다면 그후 소장을 결정 하는 것을 추천.