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b, Book, and Me
Best friends b and Rang are all each other have. Their parents are absent, their teachers avert their eyes when they walk by. Everyone else in town acts like they live in Seoul even though it's painfully obvious they don't. When Rang begins to be bullied horribly by the boys in baseball hats, b fends them off. But one day Rang unintentionally tells the whole class about b's dying sister and how her family is poor, and each of them finds herself desperately alone. The only place they can reclaim themselves, and perhaps each other, is beyond the part of town where lunatics live--the End.
160 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2011
21 people are currently reading
3176 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
October 2, 2022
"A face as stiff as a boulder, stiff with boredom—that’s the face of an adult.
Adults don’t think about the ocean
even when they watch it.
Their minds are full of other things.
It’s very depressing to think
that someday I, too, will be an adult."
I'm not sure how to articulate how this book has made me feel. It was terrifying and eerie. It unlocked a number of memories that I had believed to be locked away in the darkest recesses of my mind. Because I could identify with these 12-year-old girls, what they said to me didn't seem like random nonsense. At one time, I thought I was taking on their agony and pain. After that, a new character book was introduced, and I began to relate to it more. I'm perplexed because I didn't anticipate that ending, even though it was lovely.
Now that we've got that out of the way, if you read the opening and closing sentences carefully, you'll notice that our MC initially didn't want to be an adult, but after going through so much, she made the decision to wait until she was an adult because adults don't have to return home where someone is waiting for them.
This book contained many sentences that hit me like a truck and knocked me out from the inside.
The narration was from the perspective of a 12-year-old, so I can see that the prose was somewhat choppy despite being beautiful.
I want to read it again right now, but because of how overwhelmed I am with emotions right now, I doubt that I will be able to do so anytime soon.🫶
Adults don’t think about the ocean
even when they watch it.
Their minds are full of other things.
It’s very depressing to think
that someday I, too, will be an adult."
I'm not sure how to articulate how this book has made me feel. It was terrifying and eerie. It unlocked a number of memories that I had believed to be locked away in the darkest recesses of my mind. Because I could identify with these 12-year-old girls, what they said to me didn't seem like random nonsense. At one time, I thought I was taking on their agony and pain. After that, a new character book was introduced, and I began to relate to it more. I'm perplexed because I didn't anticipate that ending, even though it was lovely.
Now that we've got that out of the way, if you read the opening and closing sentences carefully, you'll notice that our MC initially didn't want to be an adult, but after going through so much, she made the decision to wait until she was an adult because adults don't have to return home where someone is waiting for them.
This book contained many sentences that hit me like a truck and knocked me out from the inside.
The narration was from the perspective of a 12-year-old, so I can see that the prose was somewhat choppy despite being beautiful.
I want to read it again right now, but because of how overwhelmed I am with emotions right now, I doubt that I will be able to do so anytime soon.🫶
March 8, 2020
I previously read Mina by this author, which had more of a body horror element as told through the lens of teenage angst. In b, Book, and Me the characters are younger, living in a seaside town that longs to be Seoul. Class difference, bullying, and friendships are explored from different points of view in an effective way. Something about Kim Sagwa's writing unsettles me, and hooks me from the start.
July 21, 2020
4.25/5stars
I really enjoyed this! This deals with some dark, but very relevant topics as we follow 2 girls in high school dealing with bullying, family troubles, friend break ups and other things. This was my perfect brand of “weird” and just a bit nonsensical. I would compare the feeling of this book to studio ghibli - perhaps “Howl’s Moving Castle” meets “My Neighbor Totoro”?
I really enjoyed this! This deals with some dark, but very relevant topics as we follow 2 girls in high school dealing with bullying, family troubles, friend break ups and other things. This was my perfect brand of “weird” and just a bit nonsensical. I would compare the feeling of this book to studio ghibli - perhaps “Howl’s Moving Castle” meets “My Neighbor Totoro”?
December 9, 2020
All I do is read. I don't write reviews. I'm not inspired to draw or sing. I don't get smarter or broader or narrower. I don't become more of an adult or more childlike. I don't become abundant or barren. That's the true way to read books.
...
I don't like people. I don't like myself either. I just like books.
(Book, from b, Book and Me)
b, Book and Me, has been translated from the Korean by Sunhee Jeong, from the original by 김사과 - literally Kim Apple, a pen-name, but phonetically translated here as Kim Sagwa.
The original title is 나b책 - literally MeBBook. Written phonetically in Korean, 'b' (if pronounced as 'bee') would be 비, and 나비 means butterfly, a pun which features on the Korean cover:
I have previously read Mina (미나) by the same author, translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton, as well as the story It's One of Those The-More-I'm-In-Motion-The-Weirder-It-Gets Days And It's Really Blowing My Mind(움직이면 움직일수록 이상한 일이 벌어지는 오늘은 참으로 신기한 날이다) in the anthology The Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women.
b, Book and Me has elements of both - the surreal nature of It's One Of... combined with the story of teen angst from Mina. Although in Korea, 나b책 was marketed as a YA novel (Mina wasn't) giving it a rather lighter, and more innocent, feel.
While Mina was focused on "young, amoral, privileged kids" (the author's words), living in a relatively large city, this novel is told by two younger girls (their exact age unclear but seemingly early adolescents), the 'me' of the title (who b calls Rang) and her friend, the eponymous b. And their background is rather different, the novel set in a smaller city, far from Seoul, but where the people, unusccessfully, try to emulate the metropolis:
The city was located east of the ocean. All of us who lived there were pretty much the same. We all went to the same school, watched movies at the same movie theater, and ate hamburgers at the same burger place. We all dreamt the same dream—as in, we didn’t dream at all. We just swayed like the waves, back and forth, back and forth, and ended up in the same place we were before. There was just one kid who wanted to be a fish. That’s b, who is sitting next to me right now. Then you can just go into the water and stay there, said b. You can stay there forever. You don’t have to pay the rent. You don’t have to go grocery shopping. You don’t even have to work or go to school. Then, said b, you don’t need money. You can be poor, said b, who is poor.
I want to go into the water and never come out of it.
b's family have fallen on hard times, seemingly due to medical bills for her sick sister, and live outside the main city in a run-down area.
The characters is the books are all referred to my nicknames. There are also:
- Book, who they meet first in a local cafe, Alone, where he comes to borrow and deposit books, and who lives in a shack filled with, almost constructed from, books (see opening quote);
- a gang of boys who bully the girls. They are all from the baseball team and are known by the teams/cities on the caps they wear, thus, their leader is Washington Hat;
- Glasses, the class president and resident swot, and the only boy who doesn't take part in the bullying.
As the novel opens, Rang is the bullies' main target but b defends her. However, their relationship breaks down when Rang, innocently, talks about her friend in class:
It was during our writing class. The topic was friends, and I wrote about b. I like b. I like b, who lives in a place that doesn't have a name. b, who is poor.When it was my turn, I stood up and read what I'd written. I like b, who is poor. I like b, even though she doesn't have anything except a sick sister. I hadn't read that far when b got up from her seat, crossed the classroom, opened the door and left.
Offended, b breaks off relationships with Rang, and ends up as Washington Hat's girlfriend, leaving Rang protectionless against the bullies, who rub her lunch into her hair and physically abuse her:
겁이 난다. 사실 많이. 어, 많이. 그리고 그것도 어제와 똑같다. 겁이 나는 것도, 머리카락에서 점심때 먹은 것의 냄새가 나는 것도. 이게 언제까지 계속되는 거지? 난 언제까지 이렇게 나쁘게 똑같은 날을 겪어야 하는 거지?
어쩌면 영원히.
Scared. Yes, very scared. And that's the same as yesterday as well - feeling scared with my hair smelling like what I ate for lunch. How long will this continue. How long will I live this terribly identical day.
Maybe forever.
But when Rang runs away from school, and b starts to reject Washington Hat's rather crude attentions, she becomes the new target of bullying, leaving her in despair at her economic situation:
I don't have a billion won. I have exactly one thousand won, which I stole from my mum's purse. I don't know what to do with it. I really don't know ... If I just had a billion won, my sister wouldn't die, Mom wouldn't have to work at the factory, and even I could become a doctor. But since I only have a thousand won. my sister will die, my mom will continue working at the factory and I'll grow up to be trash.
The two reunite when Rang attempts to walk into the sea (to drown herself?) and instead:
더 이상은, 더 이상은 힘들다고 생각했다. 그런데 그때였다. 뭔가 부드러운 것이 내 몸에 닿았다. 그리고 몸이 떠오르기 시작했다. 멀리서 희미한 빛이 나를 향해 다가오기 시작했다. 순식간에 나는 물 위로 떠올랐다. 난 눈을 떴다. 거기 b의 얼굴이 있었다. 백이십 퍼센트. 기적이 이루어졌다
I can't. I can't hang on anymore. And then something soft touched my body. And I floated. A faint light got closer. A moment later, I emerged from the water. I opened my eyes. b's face was in front of me. 120 percent. A miracle.
The last third of the novel, from this point on, takes a rather surreal turn which to be diminshed the power of the girls' situation.
2.5 stars - and I would recommend Mina over this.
...
I don't like people. I don't like myself either. I just like books.
(Book, from b, Book and Me)
b, Book and Me, has been translated from the Korean by Sunhee Jeong, from the original by 김사과 - literally Kim Apple, a pen-name, but phonetically translated here as Kim Sagwa.
The original title is 나b책 - literally MeBBook. Written phonetically in Korean, 'b' (if pronounced as 'bee') would be 비, and 나비 means butterfly, a pun which features on the Korean cover:
I have previously read Mina (미나) by the same author, translated by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton, as well as the story It's One of Those The-More-I'm-In-Motion-The-Weirder-It-Gets Days And It's Really Blowing My Mind(움직이면 움직일수록 이상한 일이 벌어지는 오늘은 참으로 신기한 날이다) in the anthology The Future of Silence: Fiction by Korean Women.
b, Book and Me has elements of both - the surreal nature of It's One Of... combined with the story of teen angst from Mina. Although in Korea, 나b책 was marketed as a YA novel (Mina wasn't) giving it a rather lighter, and more innocent, feel.
While Mina was focused on "young, amoral, privileged kids" (the author's words), living in a relatively large city, this novel is told by two younger girls (their exact age unclear but seemingly early adolescents), the 'me' of the title (who b calls Rang) and her friend, the eponymous b. And their background is rather different, the novel set in a smaller city, far from Seoul, but where the people, unusccessfully, try to emulate the metropolis:
The city was located east of the ocean. All of us who lived there were pretty much the same. We all went to the same school, watched movies at the same movie theater, and ate hamburgers at the same burger place. We all dreamt the same dream—as in, we didn’t dream at all. We just swayed like the waves, back and forth, back and forth, and ended up in the same place we were before. There was just one kid who wanted to be a fish. That’s b, who is sitting next to me right now. Then you can just go into the water and stay there, said b. You can stay there forever. You don’t have to pay the rent. You don’t have to go grocery shopping. You don’t even have to work or go to school. Then, said b, you don’t need money. You can be poor, said b, who is poor.
I want to go into the water and never come out of it.
b's family have fallen on hard times, seemingly due to medical bills for her sick sister, and live outside the main city in a run-down area.
The characters is the books are all referred to my nicknames. There are also:
- Book, who they meet first in a local cafe, Alone, where he comes to borrow and deposit books, and who lives in a shack filled with, almost constructed from, books (see opening quote);
- a gang of boys who bully the girls. They are all from the baseball team and are known by the teams/cities on the caps they wear, thus, their leader is Washington Hat;
- Glasses, the class president and resident swot, and the only boy who doesn't take part in the bullying.
As the novel opens, Rang is the bullies' main target but b defends her. However, their relationship breaks down when Rang, innocently, talks about her friend in class:
It was during our writing class. The topic was friends, and I wrote about b. I like b. I like b, who lives in a place that doesn't have a name. b, who is poor.When it was my turn, I stood up and read what I'd written. I like b, who is poor. I like b, even though she doesn't have anything except a sick sister. I hadn't read that far when b got up from her seat, crossed the classroom, opened the door and left.
Offended, b breaks off relationships with Rang, and ends up as Washington Hat's girlfriend, leaving Rang protectionless against the bullies, who rub her lunch into her hair and physically abuse her:
겁이 난다. 사실 많이. 어, 많이. 그리고 그것도 어제와 똑같다. 겁이 나는 것도, 머리카락에서 점심때 먹은 것의 냄새가 나는 것도. 이게 언제까지 계속되는 거지? 난 언제까지 이렇게 나쁘게 똑같은 날을 겪어야 하는 거지?
어쩌면 영원히.
Scared. Yes, very scared. And that's the same as yesterday as well - feeling scared with my hair smelling like what I ate for lunch. How long will this continue. How long will I live this terribly identical day.
Maybe forever.
But when Rang runs away from school, and b starts to reject Washington Hat's rather crude attentions, she becomes the new target of bullying, leaving her in despair at her economic situation:
I don't have a billion won. I have exactly one thousand won, which I stole from my mum's purse. I don't know what to do with it. I really don't know ... If I just had a billion won, my sister wouldn't die, Mom wouldn't have to work at the factory, and even I could become a doctor. But since I only have a thousand won. my sister will die, my mom will continue working at the factory and I'll grow up to be trash.
The two reunite when Rang attempts to walk into the sea (to drown herself?) and instead:
더 이상은, 더 이상은 힘들다고 생각했다. 그런데 그때였다. 뭔가 부드러운 것이 내 몸에 닿았다. 그리고 몸이 떠오르기 시작했다. 멀리서 희미한 빛이 나를 향해 다가오기 시작했다. 순식간에 나는 물 위로 떠올랐다. 난 눈을 떴다. 거기 b의 얼굴이 있었다. 백이십 퍼센트. 기적이 이루어졌다
I can't. I can't hang on anymore. And then something soft touched my body. And I floated. A faint light got closer. A moment later, I emerged from the water. I opened my eyes. b's face was in front of me. 120 percent. A miracle.
The last third of the novel, from this point on, takes a rather surreal turn which to be diminshed the power of the girls' situation.
2.5 stars - and I would recommend Mina over this.
March 4, 2020
b, Book and Me Translating Bullying and Friendship
Reading books that have been translated from other languages is a passion of mine. So when I saw this Korean book about bullying and friendship, topics I enjoy, I knew I had to try b, Book and Me. I was surprised at how grown up and yet distinctly youthful this book read.
Did b, Book and Me translate well for this Asian Fangirl?
I’ve read several translated books and am always surprised when it’s so clear that a translator has excelled at maintaining the atmosphere of the original work. b, Book and Me has a distinctly Asian narrative feel to it. Sure the characters are Korean, but it’s more than that. There’s a stream of consciousness to the narrative that when done well I associate with Asian thinking. Asians don’t like to kiss and tell like Americans, they want you to read between the lines. It feels at once complex and reserved but bubbling with emotions suppressed. It’s a style for a discerning adult palate but can be appreciated by a teen with refined tastes too.
Magical realism flavors the stream of consciousness narrative.
We only know the world of b, Book and Me through the eyes of our narrators b and Rang. Deep in their consciousness we follow them as they ponder their different concerns. There’s a rhythmic nature to the prose that gives structure to what is normally a random and chaotic POV style. It works quite well and meshes with the magical realism with which the girls use to deal with the troubling things plaguing them. While I didn’t always understand what was happening I did feel how those horrors overwhelmed their emotional stability.
Friendship overcomes social awkwardness and mental struggles.
Rang already feels estranged from the very person who should love her, so to feel distant from her peers is no surprise. When we can’t relate we feel awkward. Rang has reasons, though, that things work with b. So when Rang is perplexed by what she did to alienate b we feel that same perplexity.
When we transition to b’s POV I really started to understand this friendship and what Rang had done. b’s life is a lot more complex then she’s let on to her peers and she’s struggling everyday over it. Seeing friendship from each girl’s POV was a surprisingly effective way to see how we can come to misunderstand each other due to not seeing the other person’s perspective.
b, Book and Me shows us how bullying, friendship and life can be confusing and emotional.
I quite enjoyed Rang and then b’s parts of the narrative. The bullying was quite mystifying to me at first. And b’s abrupt change toward Rang confused me at first. We had to spend time with b before we really understood the pressures she was under. While I understood events overall, I didn’t always understand events in the moment. Because it’s stream of consciousness we aren’t being told what’s happening, we’re being shown. Without any sort of intent or purpose behind events it can be confusing what’s happening. It read messily, like life.
Touching on deep topics such as bullying can feel heavy handed and preachy.
But due to this narrative style the story puts us in this emotional bubble that allows us to feel the reality of b and Rang’s experiences without the preaching. This is just their life and they are living it. We don’t need to judge, just feel for them. We also experience homelessness, societal pressures, sexual abuse and parental neglect. It’s raw and intense.
Through the eyes of Korean author, Kim Sagwa, b, Book and Me showcases the extreme bullying that happens everyday in Asia. Newly translated into English, we experience the friendship pains of three young adults as their lives are irrevocably changed by those who hate on others.
Reading books that have been translated from other languages is a passion of mine. So when I saw this Korean book about bullying and friendship, topics I enjoy, I knew I had to try b, Book and Me. I was surprised at how grown up and yet distinctly youthful this book read.
Did b, Book and Me translate well for this Asian Fangirl?
I’ve read several translated books and am always surprised when it’s so clear that a translator has excelled at maintaining the atmosphere of the original work. b, Book and Me has a distinctly Asian narrative feel to it. Sure the characters are Korean, but it’s more than that. There’s a stream of consciousness to the narrative that when done well I associate with Asian thinking. Asians don’t like to kiss and tell like Americans, they want you to read between the lines. It feels at once complex and reserved but bubbling with emotions suppressed. It’s a style for a discerning adult palate but can be appreciated by a teen with refined tastes too.
Magical realism flavors the stream of consciousness narrative.
We only know the world of b, Book and Me through the eyes of our narrators b and Rang. Deep in their consciousness we follow them as they ponder their different concerns. There’s a rhythmic nature to the prose that gives structure to what is normally a random and chaotic POV style. It works quite well and meshes with the magical realism with which the girls use to deal with the troubling things plaguing them. While I didn’t always understand what was happening I did feel how those horrors overwhelmed their emotional stability.
Friendship overcomes social awkwardness and mental struggles.
Rang already feels estranged from the very person who should love her, so to feel distant from her peers is no surprise. When we can’t relate we feel awkward. Rang has reasons, though, that things work with b. So when Rang is perplexed by what she did to alienate b we feel that same perplexity.
When we transition to b’s POV I really started to understand this friendship and what Rang had done. b’s life is a lot more complex then she’s let on to her peers and she’s struggling everyday over it. Seeing friendship from each girl’s POV was a surprisingly effective way to see how we can come to misunderstand each other due to not seeing the other person’s perspective.
b, Book and Me shows us how bullying, friendship and life can be confusing and emotional.
I quite enjoyed Rang and then b’s parts of the narrative. The bullying was quite mystifying to me at first. And b’s abrupt change toward Rang confused me at first. We had to spend time with b before we really understood the pressures she was under. While I understood events overall, I didn’t always understand events in the moment. Because it’s stream of consciousness we aren’t being told what’s happening, we’re being shown. Without any sort of intent or purpose behind events it can be confusing what’s happening. It read messily, like life.
Touching on deep topics such as bullying can feel heavy handed and preachy.
But due to this narrative style the story puts us in this emotional bubble that allows us to feel the reality of b and Rang’s experiences without the preaching. This is just their life and they are living it. We don’t need to judge, just feel for them. We also experience homelessness, societal pressures, sexual abuse and parental neglect. It’s raw and intense.
Through the eyes of Korean author, Kim Sagwa, b, Book and Me showcases the extreme bullying that happens everyday in Asia. Newly translated into English, we experience the friendship pains of three young adults as their lives are irrevocably changed by those who hate on others.
September 5, 2019
Kim Sagwa's quick, wise-beyond-its-years b, Book, and Me is one of the few books I know that I can recommend wholeheartedly to . . . anyone. In my bookselling days, I always blacked out when some cool teen came in and asked for something new, something they hadn't heard of. Not that series. Already read that series. Loved that one. Hated those. Etc. Now I'd have b, Book, and Me, this strange, brilliant literary novel, to offer them, which despite some dark moments is, I think, totally appropriate for—and in some ways made to be appreciated by—a younger audience.
It's also perfect for lovers of literary translation for more obvious reasons. Sagwa's direct, piercing style is deftly handled by Sunhee Jeong, who translated the book from Korean. Fans of Sagwa's previously translated novel Mina will recognize the author's skill at depicting of teenagedom: her rendering of youth is unflinching and deeply-felt, authentically complicated, weighted, the whole-world.
There's something about the voice, or voices (we get two narrators here), in this novel that I can't quite put into words. It's . . . deadpan. Like how I refused to smile for the camera on a Cancun vacation with my family when I was 15. My headphones never left my ears. I was angry and probably in love and missed my friends and really into The Cure. I was feeling a whole lot, but I didn't just show that to my mom and dad. b, Book, and Me is like that.
The plot is pretty straightforward. b and Rang are best friends. They go to the ocean together. They get beat up by boys in baseball caps. They talk about becoming Fish. They live in a town that wishes it was Seoul. The other kids dress like they live in Seoul. They drink soft drinks and pretend they're in Seoul. They wear pants and shirts like Seoul. They dream of moving to Seoul. b and Rang don't really care much about Seoul. It all seems a bit pathetic, trying to keep up with Seoul like that. b is poor. Her sister is dying. Rang is slightly better off. She writes a poem about b, her best friend. b doesn't like it. The friends part ways for some time. They meet again in The End, where the lunatics and outsiders live, meet a new friend named Book (he introduces them to coffee and his impressive collection of books), and they find each other—and themselves—again.
Folks, it's a good one. And quick, too. Probably will take you just a couple hours. Which is great because, if you're anything like me, you'll pick it up and read it again.
It's also perfect for lovers of literary translation for more obvious reasons. Sagwa's direct, piercing style is deftly handled by Sunhee Jeong, who translated the book from Korean. Fans of Sagwa's previously translated novel Mina will recognize the author's skill at depicting of teenagedom: her rendering of youth is unflinching and deeply-felt, authentically complicated, weighted, the whole-world.
There's something about the voice, or voices (we get two narrators here), in this novel that I can't quite put into words. It's . . . deadpan. Like how I refused to smile for the camera on a Cancun vacation with my family when I was 15. My headphones never left my ears. I was angry and probably in love and missed my friends and really into The Cure. I was feeling a whole lot, but I didn't just show that to my mom and dad. b, Book, and Me is like that.
The plot is pretty straightforward. b and Rang are best friends. They go to the ocean together. They get beat up by boys in baseball caps. They talk about becoming Fish. They live in a town that wishes it was Seoul. The other kids dress like they live in Seoul. They drink soft drinks and pretend they're in Seoul. They wear pants and shirts like Seoul. They dream of moving to Seoul. b and Rang don't really care much about Seoul. It all seems a bit pathetic, trying to keep up with Seoul like that. b is poor. Her sister is dying. Rang is slightly better off. She writes a poem about b, her best friend. b doesn't like it. The friends part ways for some time. They meet again in The End, where the lunatics and outsiders live, meet a new friend named Book (he introduces them to coffee and his impressive collection of books), and they find each other—and themselves—again.
Folks, it's a good one. And quick, too. Probably will take you just a couple hours. Which is great because, if you're anything like me, you'll pick it up and read it again.
Read
January 18, 2020What a weird and compelling little book about two outcast teen girls whose friendship breaks apart. This one is told in short vignettes, in two voices, set in Korea and translated from Korean. It has a bit of a dreamy feel to it, even though the content is anything but, and would be the kind of books teen readers who "want something different" would dig.
May 6, 2025
Watch my review on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmLxP...
Strange and captivating story of childhood friendship and school bullying
Strange and captivating story of childhood friendship and school bullying
May 17, 2024
Livro estranho. Dou por mim a classificar de estranho, mas não é que seja mesmo estranho, é só diferente de tudo o que já li. Há 3 personagens, Rang, b e Book. O cenário é uma pequena cidade à beira mar, com a pretensão impossível de imitar a capital Seoul, com uma fábrica de chaminé imponente e um bairro proibido (o End). Rang é vítima de bullying na escola e tem vontade de entrar pelo mar e transformar-se nele (mas não diz “eu quero morrer” o que diz é “quero transformar-me no mar”). b é a sua única amiga, mas tem uma irmã muito doente, que provocou a pobreza da família e demora em morrer, por isso maltrata-a. Sem querer Rang ofende-a e praticamente estraga a sua amizade. Entra então Book, que vive sozinho e quer transformar-se num livro. Há também Alone, vindo de Seoul, que abre um café na terreola. E o gangue dos bullys, com bonés que vão de Washington a Tóquio. E os pais que não querem saber deles.
February 11, 2020
OUT TODAY!
Named one of the Best Books of 2020 (So Far) by Glamour, Kim Sagwa's B, BOOK, AND ME is finally available wherever good books are sold.
A face as stiff as a boulder, stiff with boredom—
that's the face of an adult.
Adults don't think about the ocean
even when they watch it.
Their minds are full of other things.
It's very depressing to think
that someday I, too, will be an adult.
Named one of the Best Books of 2020 (So Far) by Glamour, Kim Sagwa's B, BOOK, AND ME is finally available wherever good books are sold.
A face as stiff as a boulder, stiff with boredom—
that's the face of an adult.
Adults don't think about the ocean
even when they watch it.
Their minds are full of other things.
It's very depressing to think
that someday I, too, will be an adult.
August 16, 2020
2.5 stars
August 19, 2020
*Score: 6/10*
Synopsis: The story centers around 2 teens in their years of prime confusion and identity search, and the friendship they have within the school setting. One of the key topics here is bullying and its impact on a person at this stage in their lives.
First I need to vent a bit, talk about sabotaging a potentially brilliant work. The first 2/3rds of this short novel is very good with some strong writing, great descriptions, and some quality psychological exploration of the 2 main characters. It delves into the personality of 2 disturbed teenages, and their complex friendship, as well as tackles the theme of bullying very well. It reminded me a bit of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, with similar points regarding social amd family pressure. While not masterful, those 2/3rds were leading to a very solid 4 star read and a really memorable experience....
Until the last third, which turns this work into some pretentious gibberish, rubbish conversations, and brings the worst from the characters (not in a good way, but more in a way to make the reader actively despise them and wish they never existed, completely wiping out any symphathy we established initially to them). I was so disappointed in such direction, and started feeling that I want this book to just be finished and get it done with. The last couple of pages try to redeem the book a bit and revert it back to the inital solid style of writing, but it was too late as the damage was done already.
Do I recommend this book? Not sure... its short so in this sense if you are curious about it then risk is ok since its not a huge time investment, but on the other hand, there are other works of this nature that I think are definitely superior (i.e. such as the book mentioned earlier by Sayaka Murata). For me personally I will probably forget it soon as I really ended up not caring enough about its approach, even though I liked its themes in geenral.
Synopsis: The story centers around 2 teens in their years of prime confusion and identity search, and the friendship they have within the school setting. One of the key topics here is bullying and its impact on a person at this stage in their lives.
First I need to vent a bit, talk about sabotaging a potentially brilliant work. The first 2/3rds of this short novel is very good with some strong writing, great descriptions, and some quality psychological exploration of the 2 main characters. It delves into the personality of 2 disturbed teenages, and their complex friendship, as well as tackles the theme of bullying very well. It reminded me a bit of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, with similar points regarding social amd family pressure. While not masterful, those 2/3rds were leading to a very solid 4 star read and a really memorable experience....
Until the last third, which turns this work into some pretentious gibberish, rubbish conversations, and brings the worst from the characters (not in a good way, but more in a way to make the reader actively despise them and wish they never existed, completely wiping out any symphathy we established initially to them). I was so disappointed in such direction, and started feeling that I want this book to just be finished and get it done with. The last couple of pages try to redeem the book a bit and revert it back to the inital solid style of writing, but it was too late as the damage was done already.
Do I recommend this book? Not sure... its short so in this sense if you are curious about it then risk is ok since its not a huge time investment, but on the other hand, there are other works of this nature that I think are definitely superior (i.e. such as the book mentioned earlier by Sayaka Murata). For me personally I will probably forget it soon as I really ended up not caring enough about its approach, even though I liked its themes in geenral.
December 13, 2019
I wanted to like this so much, but I just couldn’t connect at all. It just felt like it was just trying to hard to be clever, but felt overthought and good writing doesn’t save a story if you cannot connect with the characters or the story
Sorry not for me
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Sorry not for me
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
April 10, 2020
This book is very atmospheric and artfully weird, and I enjoyed reading it, but I could not fully connect with it for some reason. I will however be interested in seeing what comes next from this author.
February 3, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
I really enjoyed this book - for such a short read it covered a lot of ground. I definitely felt like I got to know the characters, even in such short bursts, which is the hallmark of a good writer. It reminded me a lot of Angela Carter, where the writing is grounded in real social issues but through a fantastical lens. I'll definitely look out for more by Sagwa.
I really enjoyed this book - for such a short read it covered a lot of ground. I definitely felt like I got to know the characters, even in such short bursts, which is the hallmark of a good writer. It reminded me a lot of Angela Carter, where the writing is grounded in real social issues but through a fantastical lens. I'll definitely look out for more by Sagwa.
January 9, 2020
At less than 200 pages, this rather quiet novella packs in a number of important issues including bullying and death. However, I could not get invested in any of the characters and was not able to piece the different parts of the story together. The author's poetic style was a little over my head. I ended up skimming through the book. I really wanted to like this book but it was not for me. Nonetheless, I would like to explore more Korean literature because I am curious about Asian vs Western literature.
P.S. I received this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
P.S. I received this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
March 29, 2022
BEST. BOOK. EVER
July 27, 2020
Beauty collides with cruelty. And then it's fey as well. A jarring combination.
February 11, 2020
I wanted to enjoy this much more than I actually did. This was more chaotic prose than anything else and that’s completely fine it just didn’t work for me and that’s also fine. Not everything is meant for the person consuming the work.
It’s a dark read about sickness, bullying, and death and the characters are definitely interesting. Kim Sagwa is a talented writer as well. I’m sorry this didn’t captivate me.
Thanks very much to Edelweiss and Netgalley for this copy of my ARC.
It’s a dark read about sickness, bullying, and death and the characters are definitely interesting. Kim Sagwa is a talented writer as well. I’m sorry this didn’t captivate me.
Thanks very much to Edelweiss and Netgalley for this copy of my ARC.
May 17, 2022
That was a very bizarre read; the blandness, the feverish non-sensical plot and the increasingly dissonant atmosphere reminded me a bit of Evangelion.
February 25, 2020
Strong flawless plot with characters that will linger long after the last page. Raw and emotional it's a story you won't want to end. Absolutely breath taking. Happy reading!
February 8, 2020
Living in a South Korean town, b and Rang are both isolated. b’s parents are consumed with her ill sister while Rang’s parents ignore her. The girls find solace in their friendship, but when Rang writes an essay about b and reads it to the class, revealing that b is poor and her sister is sick, b rejects her. Rang turns to Book, a strange character who lives on the outskirts of the city, while b falls in with a group of bullies led by Washington Hat.
b, Book & Me, a short volume translated from the Korean, is dream-like and lyrical. I found the prose lovely, and at times amusing, but sometimes it was dense and ambiguous.
Both girls have reasons to be angry—b because of her fallen socioeconomic status and her sister’s health, Rang because of her parent’s apathy and the daily bullying she experiences at the hands of Washington Hat. Neither know how to process their rage nor do they have adult figures who can help them work through it. Without the scaffolding of their friendship, they become desperate, and a final confrontation at the End—the place where “abandoned people” live—brings things to an uneasy conclusion.
Although the cover image, a pair of scissors covered in blood, should have altered me, the book was much darker than I expected, and it included what felt to me like unrelenting cruelty. At the same time, it was so interesting and singular, I was very glad to have read it. I do think, though, that this is novel that would benefit from multiple readings.
I would recommend b, Book & Me to those who enjoy books in translation, coming-of-age stories, and non-traditional narratives.
Thank you to NetGalley and Two Lines Press for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
b, Book & Me, a short volume translated from the Korean, is dream-like and lyrical. I found the prose lovely, and at times amusing, but sometimes it was dense and ambiguous.
Both girls have reasons to be angry—b because of her fallen socioeconomic status and her sister’s health, Rang because of her parent’s apathy and the daily bullying she experiences at the hands of Washington Hat. Neither know how to process their rage nor do they have adult figures who can help them work through it. Without the scaffolding of their friendship, they become desperate, and a final confrontation at the End—the place where “abandoned people” live—brings things to an uneasy conclusion.
Although the cover image, a pair of scissors covered in blood, should have altered me, the book was much darker than I expected, and it included what felt to me like unrelenting cruelty. At the same time, it was so interesting and singular, I was very glad to have read it. I do think, though, that this is novel that would benefit from multiple readings.
I would recommend b, Book & Me to those who enjoy books in translation, coming-of-age stories, and non-traditional narratives.
Thank you to NetGalley and Two Lines Press for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 17, 2020
Absolutely mind-blowing...bizarre yet so good.
September 13, 2020
One wants to be the ocean and the other two want to be a fish and a book. “Those who no longer play in the water are called adults.” The first narrator, Rang, thinks adults are boring and that there are only a few good things to look forward to in the future, like free coffee from b. Nobody cares about her, it’s like she is invisible and the mirror reflects the light away from her. b, Book, and Me is set in a small seaside town that is very unlike Seoul. The more it imitates Seoul, the more it becomes… not Seoul and foolish.
This book is about being bullied and bullying and the role that poverty, social inequality and the heavy burden of a sick younger sister play in that. Rang and b have a lot in common but think they are different. The first is silent and the second wants to scream and swear and eventually unleashes her anger at someone even more vulnerable. Rang is socially uncomfortable but no one explains to her why kids get mad at her or feel uncomfortable around her. If you want to read an upbeat book, then this is not it. It is a very intimate and vulnerable account of two young girls’ thoughts and (surreal) journeys. You get to know them really well as you spend all your time inside their heads.
The prose reflects their moods, supporting your perception of their feelings. The more disturbed they are the more incoherent the narrative becomes. Kim Sagwa uses the same interesting writing style as in her other book Mina. The girl called Rang has a vivid fantasy, making you curious about what she will think and do in the next scene. She could be described as weird, but then again, if you could read my thoughts… what is to say that my thoughts are ‘normal’. The sentences are usually short and the story is easy to read. I like the effect of the short one word or one sentence chapters: the dramatic pause makes the scenes intenser.
At the same time, both girls sound the same. Their voices resemble the voice of the main character in Mina. What frustrated me in Mina were the tacky dialogues. Here the dialogues weren’t that great either, but it was alright because they were less prominent in important scenes.
I both like and dislike Kim Sagwa’s writing style. I’ll read her next book and probably feel the same. She manages to draw me in and then fails to impress. Yet she also doesn’t disappoint: some scenes are really intense and on point. I know this sounds ambiguous, but it is the most accurate description of how I perceived b, Book, and Me.
This book is about being bullied and bullying and the role that poverty, social inequality and the heavy burden of a sick younger sister play in that. Rang and b have a lot in common but think they are different. The first is silent and the second wants to scream and swear and eventually unleashes her anger at someone even more vulnerable. Rang is socially uncomfortable but no one explains to her why kids get mad at her or feel uncomfortable around her. If you want to read an upbeat book, then this is not it. It is a very intimate and vulnerable account of two young girls’ thoughts and (surreal) journeys. You get to know them really well as you spend all your time inside their heads.
The prose reflects their moods, supporting your perception of their feelings. The more disturbed they are the more incoherent the narrative becomes. Kim Sagwa uses the same interesting writing style as in her other book Mina. The girl called Rang has a vivid fantasy, making you curious about what she will think and do in the next scene. She could be described as weird, but then again, if you could read my thoughts… what is to say that my thoughts are ‘normal’. The sentences are usually short and the story is easy to read. I like the effect of the short one word or one sentence chapters: the dramatic pause makes the scenes intenser.
At the same time, both girls sound the same. Their voices resemble the voice of the main character in Mina. What frustrated me in Mina were the tacky dialogues. Here the dialogues weren’t that great either, but it was alright because they were less prominent in important scenes.
I both like and dislike Kim Sagwa’s writing style. I’ll read her next book and probably feel the same. She manages to draw me in and then fails to impress. Yet she also doesn’t disappoint: some scenes are really intense and on point. I know this sounds ambiguous, but it is the most accurate description of how I perceived b, Book, and Me.
November 24, 2019
This was a really interesting book. I liked how it focused on more than one character and it made they that each character was highly diverse and easy to tell apart. This was a great example of Korean literature and i would pick up more by this author as it was well-crafted and interesting.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 23, 2020
"Those who no longer play in the water are called adults. Adults work in the city. They are the ones who don’t see the sky, who no longer think about clouds, stars, seagulls, or the ocean."
These lines from the book explains the entire metamorphosis of a human- from a child to an adult, that is sad but true.
'b, Book, and Me' by Kim Sagwa is a story of two friends living in a small, seaside town in Korea, trying to make sense of this 'world'- that never stops for anyone. What happens when you trust a friend and tell things you have told no one and then that friend unknowingly betrays you? Can we repair the damage?
I once read a quote in 'The Lake' by Banana Yoshimoto - "When someone tells you something big, it's like you're taking money from them, and there's no way it will ever go back to being the way it was. You have to take responsibility for listening."
These lines hit me at that time and I experienced the same while reading 'b, Books, and Me'. The book talks about the idea of friendship, bullying, trust, empathy and the things that really matter at the end.
I always try to read books with a child/teenage protagonist because it has the most innocent and honest descriptions of the world we are living in and makes us question what eventually goes wrong while growing up. I had a similar experience while reading 'Miss Ice Sandwich' by Mieko Kawakami. It's good to revisit these books time and again for introspection.
These lines from the book explains the entire metamorphosis of a human- from a child to an adult, that is sad but true.
'b, Book, and Me' by Kim Sagwa is a story of two friends living in a small, seaside town in Korea, trying to make sense of this 'world'- that never stops for anyone. What happens when you trust a friend and tell things you have told no one and then that friend unknowingly betrays you? Can we repair the damage?
I once read a quote in 'The Lake' by Banana Yoshimoto - "When someone tells you something big, it's like you're taking money from them, and there's no way it will ever go back to being the way it was. You have to take responsibility for listening."
These lines hit me at that time and I experienced the same while reading 'b, Books, and Me'. The book talks about the idea of friendship, bullying, trust, empathy and the things that really matter at the end.
I always try to read books with a child/teenage protagonist because it has the most innocent and honest descriptions of the world we are living in and makes us question what eventually goes wrong while growing up. I had a similar experience while reading 'Miss Ice Sandwich' by Mieko Kawakami. It's good to revisit these books time and again for introspection.
January 10, 2022
As short as this story is, I found it to be a chore to read. It’s translated from Korean, so maybe something was lost for me in the translation.
This is a fairly quiet book that uses a lot of metaphors to illustrate the challenges and lifestyle choices of two emotionally troubled teen girls that have difficult and stressful lives. The author also tells a story that will hit you over the head with very cruel and callous behavior that goes unchecked. Does the kind of openly violent bullying and physical/sexual abuse described in the story exist IRL in Korean schools???!!! I can’t even imagine. And the main protagonists often come across as not having any emotion, understanding of how they hurt others, or remorse for unkind behavior.
Blogger Where to Kim? reviewed this book and summed up the prose like this, “The more disturbed they (the two main narrators) are the more incoherent the narrative becomes.” There was very little cohesive narrative for me, but maybe that was the magical realism aspect, or the side effect of taking a deep dive into the thought processes of a damaged teen girl. Either way, I didn’t enjoy this story.
This is a fairly quiet book that uses a lot of metaphors to illustrate the challenges and lifestyle choices of two emotionally troubled teen girls that have difficult and stressful lives. The author also tells a story that will hit you over the head with very cruel and callous behavior that goes unchecked. Does the kind of openly violent bullying and physical/sexual abuse described in the story exist IRL in Korean schools???!!! I can’t even imagine. And the main protagonists often come across as not having any emotion, understanding of how they hurt others, or remorse for unkind behavior.
Blogger Where to Kim? reviewed this book and summed up the prose like this, “The more disturbed they (the two main narrators) are the more incoherent the narrative becomes.” There was very little cohesive narrative for me, but maybe that was the magical realism aspect, or the side effect of taking a deep dive into the thought processes of a damaged teen girl. Either way, I didn’t enjoy this story.
August 21, 2022
Where Rang wants to be an Ocean, B wants to be a fish, and Book wants to go inside a book.
The book is certainly unique with very dark topics like bullying and suicide. The writing style is captivating that won't bore you. The reason why I placed 3 stars is that it changes perspective. I love it when books have that, but I hate it when it's unclear which perspective it is. I find myself wondering in the middle who was talking, was it Rang or B.
Besides that, the book is a good read, and I would love to reread it in the future to appreciate it more.
The book is certainly unique with very dark topics like bullying and suicide. The writing style is captivating that won't bore you. The reason why I placed 3 stars is that it changes perspective. I love it when books have that, but I hate it when it's unclear which perspective it is. I find myself wondering in the middle who was talking, was it Rang or B.
Besides that, the book is a good read, and I would love to reread it in the future to appreciate it more.
September 2, 2021
I found this a very juvenile read.
I found it similar to Ms Ice Sandwich, but not half as good.
This book had a peculiar way of writing. Not a huge fan of the author.
I found the narrative very childish, and the story was bland and not engaging.
2.7/5
I found it similar to Ms Ice Sandwich, but not half as good.
This book had a peculiar way of writing. Not a huge fan of the author.
I found the narrative very childish, and the story was bland and not engaging.
2.7/5
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