What do you think?
Rate this book
Like Wind Against Rock
A novel of explosive family secrets, regret, and all the little decisions that shape our lives and make us who we are.
At the age of thirty-nine, Alice Chang suddenly finds herself living in the last place she expected: her mother’s house. But in the face of divorce, eviction, and the recent death of her father, she doesn’t have a choice.
Watching as her mother thrives in a new job and meets younger men at the local gym, Alice struggles, reflecting on her parents’ marriage, her relationship with each of them, as she adjusts to being single again for the first time in twenty years. Then she finds her father’s old journal…and uncovers a shocking family secret that forces her to question everything she thought she knew about love, regret, family, and her own path forward.
As Alice comes to terms with the man her father really was, she must finally decide who she wants to be and what it will take to get there.
At the age of thirty-nine, Alice Chang suddenly finds herself living in the last place she expected: her mother’s house. But in the face of divorce, eviction, and the recent death of her father, she doesn’t have a choice.
Watching as her mother thrives in a new job and meets younger men at the local gym, Alice struggles, reflecting on her parents’ marriage, her relationship with each of them, as she adjusts to being single again for the first time in twenty years. Then she finds her father’s old journal…and uncovers a shocking family secret that forces her to question everything she thought she knew about love, regret, family, and her own path forward.
As Alice comes to terms with the man her father really was, she must finally decide who she wants to be and what it will take to get there.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2021
3175 people are currently reading
7658 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Kim
3 books34 followersNancy Kim is the author of several nonfiction books and two novels, Like Wind Against Rock and Chinhominey's Secret. She received her BA and JD from UC Berkeley, and an LLM from UCLA. She is a law professor and an expert on contracts and has lectured at universities around the world. She was born in Seoul, Korea, grew up in Los Angeles and Orange County, and has lived in France and New Zealand. She currently lives with her family in Southern California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 382 reviews
December 4, 2020
Note: I received an eARC on Netgalley.
The relationship between the immigrant parent and child is… unique… to say the least. Often characterized by high standards and a seemingly ever-widening cultural chasm, there is a sense of pressure applied to both parties. The immigrant parent feels the pressure to provide, to give their child the opportunities that they never had. The child of an immigrant feels the pressure to fulfill parental expectations, to ensure that their parent’s sacrifices weren’t in vain. This pressure manifests itself in exacting standards that we all feel we must adhere to for our entire lives. What we all forcefully ignore is the reality that neither of us can adhere to such standards forever. No one can.
In Like Wind Against Rock, Kim explores what happens when those standards are broken. What happens when your immigrant mother is widowed? Is she expected to languish in loneliness until her death? What happens when you get divorced? Most importantly, what happens when you find yourself on a path entirely different than the one you expected yourself to follow your entire life? Kim’s method of addressing this inevitable question all immigrant families will face is characterized by a frankness unlike any other book about the immigrant experience that I have ever read. She doesn’t shy away from dealing with the uncomfortable realities of facing how who we truly are differs greatly from the standards we tried so desperately to adhere to.
In a mother and a daughter, the reader is able to find both empathy and a deep sense of being known. Their struggles, when it comes down to it, are universal. But messaging isn’t the only reason why this book is so effective. The reason Like Wind Against Rock is able to provoke a profound impact is because of vivid characters.
Alice and her mother truly feel like nothing less than real people to me. In fact, it’s hard to imagine that they don’t exist. Specifically, I need to address character development. A common misconception is that character development is linear, as if characters in books grow from ignorance at point A to enlightenment at point B. That’s simply not true. Humans don’t ever just grow and then stop. The process of growth isn’t as simple as evolving through a single course of time. We grow, we regress. We learn, we fail. Kim understands this cyclical nature of character development in real life humans and applies that to her characters.
I could go on for much longer, but here’s how I’ll sum things up: read this book. If you’re a person who is living the immigrant experience, read this book. If you’re a person who hasn’t lived the immigrant experience, still read this book. Read it to explore the part of the immigrant experience that is rarely given the attention it deserves, and certainly read it to meet two people who will never quite leave your life.
The relationship between the immigrant parent and child is… unique… to say the least. Often characterized by high standards and a seemingly ever-widening cultural chasm, there is a sense of pressure applied to both parties. The immigrant parent feels the pressure to provide, to give their child the opportunities that they never had. The child of an immigrant feels the pressure to fulfill parental expectations, to ensure that their parent’s sacrifices weren’t in vain. This pressure manifests itself in exacting standards that we all feel we must adhere to for our entire lives. What we all forcefully ignore is the reality that neither of us can adhere to such standards forever. No one can.
In Like Wind Against Rock, Kim explores what happens when those standards are broken. What happens when your immigrant mother is widowed? Is she expected to languish in loneliness until her death? What happens when you get divorced? Most importantly, what happens when you find yourself on a path entirely different than the one you expected yourself to follow your entire life? Kim’s method of addressing this inevitable question all immigrant families will face is characterized by a frankness unlike any other book about the immigrant experience that I have ever read. She doesn’t shy away from dealing with the uncomfortable realities of facing how who we truly are differs greatly from the standards we tried so desperately to adhere to.
In a mother and a daughter, the reader is able to find both empathy and a deep sense of being known. Their struggles, when it comes down to it, are universal. But messaging isn’t the only reason why this book is so effective. The reason Like Wind Against Rock is able to provoke a profound impact is because of vivid characters.
Alice and her mother truly feel like nothing less than real people to me. In fact, it’s hard to imagine that they don’t exist. Specifically, I need to address character development. A common misconception is that character development is linear, as if characters in books grow from ignorance at point A to enlightenment at point B. That’s simply not true. Humans don’t ever just grow and then stop. The process of growth isn’t as simple as evolving through a single course of time. We grow, we regress. We learn, we fail. Kim understands this cyclical nature of character development in real life humans and applies that to her characters.
I could go on for much longer, but here’s how I’ll sum things up: read this book. If you’re a person who is living the immigrant experience, read this book. If you’re a person who hasn’t lived the immigrant experience, still read this book. Read it to explore the part of the immigrant experience that is rarely given the attention it deserves, and certainly read it to meet two people who will never quite leave your life.
July 19, 2021
Alice Chang is thirty nine, her marriage to her husband Louis has ended, she has moved in with her recently widowed mother and is single for the first time in twenty years. Her mother or Ahma as she calls her, has gone from being a traditional obedient Korean housewife, to a hot widow, she’s started a new career selling real estate, joined a gym and bought a whole new wardrobe. Her mother doesn’t seem to be grieving, in fact she quickly went through her husband’s processions, threw most of them out with the rubbish, and has started dating younger men.
Alice is struggling, she’s wondering if she really knew her parents at all, when she looks back they had a rather unusual relationship and she thought it was because of their Korean heritage. She saves some of her father’s belonging from the garbage, in the bottom of a bag she finds an old journal, it’s written in Korean a language she can speak and she didn’t learn to read.
Alice works part time at the Restin Public Library, she asks co-worker Sam Park to translate her father’s journal, her father shares his personal and private thoughts about his wife, daughter, his first love and a secret affair. A shocking story, some of which Sam could never tell Alice, it would break her heart and it changes both of their lives. Like Wind Against Rock is a story about a family, secrets, relationships, loss, grief and life.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, some relationships are rather complicated and four stars from me.
Alice is struggling, she’s wondering if she really knew her parents at all, when she looks back they had a rather unusual relationship and she thought it was because of their Korean heritage. She saves some of her father’s belonging from the garbage, in the bottom of a bag she finds an old journal, it’s written in Korean a language she can speak and she didn’t learn to read.
Alice works part time at the Restin Public Library, she asks co-worker Sam Park to translate her father’s journal, her father shares his personal and private thoughts about his wife, daughter, his first love and a secret affair. A shocking story, some of which Sam could never tell Alice, it would break her heart and it changes both of their lives. Like Wind Against Rock is a story about a family, secrets, relationships, loss, grief and life.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, some relationships are rather complicated and four stars from me.
August 17, 2021
I find this book hard to review, and indeed hard to score so I had to go for the middle ground.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, so went into it fairly blind, but upon finishing I agree with other readers.
It is a poignant read, and had echoes of family drama books by Susan Lewis for me.
I didn't exactly warm to the characters, so I didn't feel fully invested in their lives, but the plot and writing were strong factors in my enjoyment.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, so went into it fairly blind, but upon finishing I agree with other readers.
It is a poignant read, and had echoes of family drama books by Susan Lewis for me.
I didn't exactly warm to the characters, so I didn't feel fully invested in their lives, but the plot and writing were strong factors in my enjoyment.
September 19, 2021
*spoilers*
Engaging, heart-breaking story about that highlights the human experience and how we’re all just doing our best to find our way.
Alice is still reeling from her father’s death, yet her mother (her father’s wife) seems to have quickly moved on. She’s loaded up all of his things in black trash bags and set them out on the curb for the garbage men. As her mother won’t talk about her father’s death, Alice secretly digs through the discarded bags and finds her father’s journal. There’s only one problem: She doesn’t read Korean, and therefore can’t decipher the diary.
Alice enlists the help of a business contact who reads Korean who read the journal and discovers secrets that strike at the core of both of their families.
*BIG SPOILER*:
I didn’t really care for how Alice thought her father was the one to be most pitied out of all the cast of characters, since he was not able to be with the woman he really loved. There were many others in the story who were not loved in return, which is the greater tragedy in my opinion. But in the end, it’s about acceptance and moving on.
A short but moving read, this one is recommended for book club aficionados and those who don’t mind a story that really pulls at, and pummels, the heart.
A big thank you to Nancy Kim, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for this review.
Get your copy of Like Wind Against Rock today at www.bookshop.org – the online bookstore that gives 75% of the book’s profits back to indie booksellers. Find it at https://bookshop.org/lists/best-ficti....
#LikeWindAgainstRock
#NancyKim
#LakeUnionPublishing
#NetGalley
#BookShop
#GeneralFiction
#WomensFiction
#BookClubs
Engaging, heart-breaking story about that highlights the human experience and how we’re all just doing our best to find our way.
Alice is still reeling from her father’s death, yet her mother (her father’s wife) seems to have quickly moved on. She’s loaded up all of his things in black trash bags and set them out on the curb for the garbage men. As her mother won’t talk about her father’s death, Alice secretly digs through the discarded bags and finds her father’s journal. There’s only one problem: She doesn’t read Korean, and therefore can’t decipher the diary.
Alice enlists the help of a business contact who reads Korean who read the journal and discovers secrets that strike at the core of both of their families.
*BIG SPOILER*:
I didn’t really care for how Alice thought her father was the one to be most pitied out of all the cast of characters, since he was not able to be with the woman he really loved. There were many others in the story who were not loved in return, which is the greater tragedy in my opinion. But in the end, it’s about acceptance and moving on.
A short but moving read, this one is recommended for book club aficionados and those who don’t mind a story that really pulls at, and pummels, the heart.
A big thank you to Nancy Kim, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for this review.
Get your copy of Like Wind Against Rock today at www.bookshop.org – the online bookstore that gives 75% of the book’s profits back to indie booksellers. Find it at https://bookshop.org/lists/best-ficti....
#LikeWindAgainstRock
#NancyKim
#LakeUnionPublishing
#NetGalley
#BookShop
#GeneralFiction
#WomensFiction
#BookClubs
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2020
This is one of the loveliest novels I have read this year. Such a good surprise and a reminder of why I love having the opportunity to read a book before it has been published.
Somehow Alice is living with her mother, after her father has died and her husband left her. Now, her mother is no longer the old fashioned Korean wife and mother, but an eager Internet dater, looking for excitement and a new beginning. It’s her mother’s zest for life that pushes Alice to step out of her own comfort zone.
Alice has also saved a notebook that her father had been using as a journal before his death. She finally asks a colleague to translate it and within the translation is an intriguing subplot. Every character is incredibly likable and so well developed that I pictured them vividly.
This is a very special book. I was totally engaged and I loved the characters. I noticed it had questions for book club discussions, so I was excited at the opportunity to share the book and subsequent discussion with my own book club.
Thank you Netgalley for this early holiday gift.
Somehow Alice is living with her mother, after her father has died and her husband left her. Now, her mother is no longer the old fashioned Korean wife and mother, but an eager Internet dater, looking for excitement and a new beginning. It’s her mother’s zest for life that pushes Alice to step out of her own comfort zone.
Alice has also saved a notebook that her father had been using as a journal before his death. She finally asks a colleague to translate it and within the translation is an intriguing subplot. Every character is incredibly likable and so well developed that I pictured them vividly.
This is a very special book. I was totally engaged and I loved the characters. I noticed it had questions for book club discussions, so I was excited at the opportunity to share the book and subsequent discussion with my own book club.
Thank you Netgalley for this early holiday gift.
November 30, 2020
Once you open this book and start reading that's you, hooked. It won't let you go until you've finished. This is how I found myself racing through it in a day. It's a short read with big themes. Nancy Kim's writing is deceptively simple and conversational in style. "Like Wind Against Rock" is a tale of love, marriage, familial duty, what it means to be a father, ageing and the difficulties that presents to women, enduring friendships, secrets, lies and a nod to the importance of libraries. Kim entices the reader through the whole gamut of emotions, delivering the occasional gut punch. I loved it.
December 11, 2021
I enjoyed this novel. Early on you suspect the direction with the appearance of a notebook... 6 degrees of separation.
May 2, 2021
I don’t usually like books that are about, as I sometimes dismissively put it, ‘relationships and stuff.’ So it was with some surprise that this book called out to me from the May Amazon First Reads selection.
The book centres on a Korean-American, Alice, who has moved back in with her widowed mother following her own separation. The discovery of her father’s diary, in Hangul - which Alice doesn’t read - will take her on a journey which uncovers past truths and helps Alice to come to terms with her present.
I found this a really sweet tale about ‘relationships and stuff.’ The writing really drew me in, and all of the characters were believable and compelling. I was a sad to leave their world at the end. I’ll call this the book that convinced me to take more of a chance on character-driven books and not be so plot hungry ;)
The book centres on a Korean-American, Alice, who has moved back in with her widowed mother following her own separation. The discovery of her father’s diary, in Hangul - which Alice doesn’t read - will take her on a journey which uncovers past truths and helps Alice to come to terms with her present.
I found this a really sweet tale about ‘relationships and stuff.’ The writing really drew me in, and all of the characters were believable and compelling. I was a sad to leave their world at the end. I’ll call this the book that convinced me to take more of a chance on character-driven books and not be so plot hungry ;)
May 10, 2021
Again a book I found just ok that I'm chalking up to my current frame of mind (it's dark in there these days). The plotline following the dad's diary had a nice twist. Alice's lack of direction in life after habitating planet earth for 39 years just frustrated me. Come on, get your shit together that's what your 20's are for. So many lost souls. Trust me, I'm not a shake up the world person these days either but by the time I was 39 I had pretty much knew what I was doing, going and wanted to go. Most of the time....
May 12, 2021
A truly beautiful book
Superbly written, engaging book about family, cultural norms, love , passion, duty, kindness and ultimately making the most of life. I simply loved this book.
Superbly written, engaging book about family, cultural norms, love , passion, duty, kindness and ultimately making the most of life. I simply loved this book.
December 17, 2020
A father dies. A mother drastically changes. A woman’s life is up ended by both. This is an enthralling story of mysteries and of connectedness. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 17, 2021
3.8/5
This story was well written and genuinely heartbreaking. However, several characters were unlikable, particularly the protagonist. The more interesting characters were her Parents, their backstory and her employer.
This book is free this month for Kindle prime readers and it’s worth a read and will take you about a day to read
This story was well written and genuinely heartbreaking. However, several characters were unlikable, particularly the protagonist. The more interesting characters were her Parents, their backstory and her employer.
This book is free this month for Kindle prime readers and it’s worth a read and will take you about a day to read
February 7, 2022
A woman whose marriage has broken up and her Korean mother whose husband has died share a home. The daughter finds her fathers journal and the family secrets start to spill....
May 12, 2021
This was a quick read that I would have liked to have enjoyed more than I did. For me, Alice was a hard character to engage with. Her lack of ambition and self awareness at the age of 39 was hard to fathom. She was definitely content to have life to happen to her without actually engaging with anybody or anything. I would have preferred to read the story from her mother's perspective as she was the more interesting character. Also wasn't a fan of the "twist" as it seemed obvious and ridiculous all at the same time.
December 1, 2020
I received this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. It isn't a genre that I am normally drawn towards however the premise seemed so interesting that I had to request and read it. The story follows Alice Chang and her life during her divorce and after the death of her father. I won't post any spoilers but I will say that this story was incredibly beautiful and well written with plot twists that felt natural yet still unpredictable rather than some elaborate "gotcha!" moment. All of the characters were written in a way that made them all likeable yet very obvious with their flaws and shortcomings - there wasn't a clear villain or good guy in this book because everyone just acted the way people act in real life.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a chance to pick it up either before or after its publish date. It is a lovely read and I look forward to seeing what else Nancy Kim will release in the future.
I really enjoyed this book. It isn't a genre that I am normally drawn towards however the premise seemed so interesting that I had to request and read it. The story follows Alice Chang and her life during her divorce and after the death of her father. I won't post any spoilers but I will say that this story was incredibly beautiful and well written with plot twists that felt natural yet still unpredictable rather than some elaborate "gotcha!" moment. All of the characters were written in a way that made them all likeable yet very obvious with their flaws and shortcomings - there wasn't a clear villain or good guy in this book because everyone just acted the way people act in real life.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a chance to pick it up either before or after its publish date. It is a lovely read and I look forward to seeing what else Nancy Kim will release in the future.
May 29, 2021
It’s a second generation Asian-American story in many ways, but that’s not all that it’s about. I honestly haven’t read many (could probably count on one hand—Joy Luck Club, Crazy Rich Asians, Pachinko, and wow is that it? Please send me book recs, people) this one was a quick, enjoyable read. The ending was a little too neat in my opinion, the change in the characters very subtle. But I get it on an instinctual level. (**edit: pachinko isn’t an Asian American story, but it is an intergenerational story)
June 1, 2021
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com...
"𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐚.”
Alice Chang never imagined herself living with her widowed, Korean mother “Ahma” at the age of thirty-nine. Alice’s husband Louis has filed for divorce, the apartment she has been living in during their separation is no longer an option, now that the landlord is converting them into a condominium and she never told her parents they were living apart. She and Louis will not be reunited, it really is over, despite her wishes for the contrary. When her Ahma offers her the chance to save money by living with her “for a bit”, she accepts, and has to tell her mom she hasn’t been living with Lois. It’s just a necessary yet small lie, telling Ahma that they are just ‘taking a break’. As a bookkeeper, Alice isn’t swimming in money, there isn’t any other option that is good for her meager budget. Still, sharing a home with Ahma, watching her rebirth is a shock to Alice’s system. On the heels of her father’s unexpected death, she is stunned by her mother’s ‘transformation’ from devoted housewife to a sexy single, and one who is suddenly speaking English all the time, moving up in real estate work. She has come into her own in a big way! Being the widow of a dentist she certainly doesn’t need the money, and why the rush with dating? The cherry on top, her sixty-two year old mother is dating much younger men! Didn’t she love Appa, Alice’s father? Weren’t they happy? Where are the tears? Worse, she seems to want to clean out every trace of him. When she is asked to dispose of her father’s things, Alice keeps his notebook written in Korean, desperate to translate it yet fearful of handing private thoughts over to a stranger. For now, she keeps it hidden from her mother, who is sure if he had something to tell, he would have told his daughter in life. Living in her old bedroom, hiding things, she feels she is regressing. Her mother is like a rising sun, full of energy, happiness and light. Why dos this sting Alice so?
If only Alice could know how her father felt, surely he loved his daughter? His little family of three? Her mother is blooming while she is flailing after her long marriage and trying to come to terms with her emotionally distant father’s death. He was solid, dependable, a good man if not demonstrative and as involved as her Ahma. Troubled that her mother seems to be on a quest to “catch up on the life she missed”, when she seemed happy enough, even if she was the one always showing the affection, could it be there are pieces missing in her family story? Victor, a man she works for, is translating her father’s notebook, but there are dangerous secrets and burning regrets that can only hurt Alice and her mother. They aren’t the only ones. Appa’s reserve hid a lot about his internal struggles, the painful choices that haunted his heart and kept his marriage distant and cold. Is Alice ready to unearth the truth? One thing is certain, her mother is a person too, one that longed for more than pleasing her husband and mothering her beloved daughter.
It’s a complex family tale, one that exposes the traps of marriage and the shame of yearning as well as the limit of choices. Cultural expectations, young hearts, and the hope for those who have a second chance at a different life. Alice has to see her parents and their marriage with adult eyes, a transition that isn’t easy when marred by regrets. Where does she fit in all of this? How can she move forward now and let go of the plans she made with Lois? What does her late father’s words have to do with her own future? Engaging and moving.
Publication Date: June 1, 2021 Out Now
Lake Union Publishing
"𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐚.”
Alice Chang never imagined herself living with her widowed, Korean mother “Ahma” at the age of thirty-nine. Alice’s husband Louis has filed for divorce, the apartment she has been living in during their separation is no longer an option, now that the landlord is converting them into a condominium and she never told her parents they were living apart. She and Louis will not be reunited, it really is over, despite her wishes for the contrary. When her Ahma offers her the chance to save money by living with her “for a bit”, she accepts, and has to tell her mom she hasn’t been living with Lois. It’s just a necessary yet small lie, telling Ahma that they are just ‘taking a break’. As a bookkeeper, Alice isn’t swimming in money, there isn’t any other option that is good for her meager budget. Still, sharing a home with Ahma, watching her rebirth is a shock to Alice’s system. On the heels of her father’s unexpected death, she is stunned by her mother’s ‘transformation’ from devoted housewife to a sexy single, and one who is suddenly speaking English all the time, moving up in real estate work. She has come into her own in a big way! Being the widow of a dentist she certainly doesn’t need the money, and why the rush with dating? The cherry on top, her sixty-two year old mother is dating much younger men! Didn’t she love Appa, Alice’s father? Weren’t they happy? Where are the tears? Worse, she seems to want to clean out every trace of him. When she is asked to dispose of her father’s things, Alice keeps his notebook written in Korean, desperate to translate it yet fearful of handing private thoughts over to a stranger. For now, she keeps it hidden from her mother, who is sure if he had something to tell, he would have told his daughter in life. Living in her old bedroom, hiding things, she feels she is regressing. Her mother is like a rising sun, full of energy, happiness and light. Why dos this sting Alice so?
If only Alice could know how her father felt, surely he loved his daughter? His little family of three? Her mother is blooming while she is flailing after her long marriage and trying to come to terms with her emotionally distant father’s death. He was solid, dependable, a good man if not demonstrative and as involved as her Ahma. Troubled that her mother seems to be on a quest to “catch up on the life she missed”, when she seemed happy enough, even if she was the one always showing the affection, could it be there are pieces missing in her family story? Victor, a man she works for, is translating her father’s notebook, but there are dangerous secrets and burning regrets that can only hurt Alice and her mother. They aren’t the only ones. Appa’s reserve hid a lot about his internal struggles, the painful choices that haunted his heart and kept his marriage distant and cold. Is Alice ready to unearth the truth? One thing is certain, her mother is a person too, one that longed for more than pleasing her husband and mothering her beloved daughter.
It’s a complex family tale, one that exposes the traps of marriage and the shame of yearning as well as the limit of choices. Cultural expectations, young hearts, and the hope for those who have a second chance at a different life. Alice has to see her parents and their marriage with adult eyes, a transition that isn’t easy when marred by regrets. Where does she fit in all of this? How can she move forward now and let go of the plans she made with Lois? What does her late father’s words have to do with her own future? Engaging and moving.
Publication Date: June 1, 2021 Out Now
Lake Union Publishing
May 22, 2021
Like Wind Against Rock is an exquisitely written book that you should not miss! It gently brings you into its delicately written folds. About loss, betrayal, family secrets, loyalty, and relationships. Alice is a first born Korean American, who is reeling from a crazy year. She is separated from her husband and dealing with the sudden loss of her father. She believes she is the only one that is properly mourning him.
Her mother appears to be reveling in her newfound freedom. Dating every available man that comes her way, succeeding in her new job as a relator, and basking in her newly discovered love of fashion. Gone is the dutiful, traditional, Korean wife who hovered around her husband. Living to only please him. It makes Alice question her parents love for one another. There was love, wasn't there? Her father was present in his marriage and in his life? Her father was happy? He was content in the life he just left, wasn't he? All these questions that are whirling around Alice's head come down to a notebook. The notebook Alice fishes out of a garbage bag of her father's things, that her mother carelessly discards in the trash. Alice cannot uncover the secrets, hidden within. Because it is written in Korean, the language she learned to speak, but was never taught to read.
Mr. Park is an older gentleman that Alice works with, that reminds her of her father. He is flung into Alice's fathers' betrayal to her mother and to Alice herself. The weaving of all their lives comes to a head, that is astounding and heartbreaking for Mr. Park and for Alice's own mother. How will these deeply guarded secrets affect Alice and everyone they touch?
Nancy Kim's ability to weave a beautifully written story of family secrets, that could have easily become a typical, tangled family drama. I would highly recommend this gracefully written book! Thank you to Goodreads for this gifted book.
Her mother appears to be reveling in her newfound freedom. Dating every available man that comes her way, succeeding in her new job as a relator, and basking in her newly discovered love of fashion. Gone is the dutiful, traditional, Korean wife who hovered around her husband. Living to only please him. It makes Alice question her parents love for one another. There was love, wasn't there? Her father was present in his marriage and in his life? Her father was happy? He was content in the life he just left, wasn't he? All these questions that are whirling around Alice's head come down to a notebook. The notebook Alice fishes out of a garbage bag of her father's things, that her mother carelessly discards in the trash. Alice cannot uncover the secrets, hidden within. Because it is written in Korean, the language she learned to speak, but was never taught to read.
Mr. Park is an older gentleman that Alice works with, that reminds her of her father. He is flung into Alice's fathers' betrayal to her mother and to Alice herself. The weaving of all their lives comes to a head, that is astounding and heartbreaking for Mr. Park and for Alice's own mother. How will these deeply guarded secrets affect Alice and everyone they touch?
Nancy Kim's ability to weave a beautifully written story of family secrets, that could have easily become a typical, tangled family drama. I would highly recommend this gracefully written book! Thank you to Goodreads for this gifted book.
January 17, 2022
Like Wind Against Rock is how we are molded into the individuals we are.
Alice Chang based her life and decisions on comfortably following her passions. This has led her to being in a place where she is starting all over again in her almost 40s. Alice learns about her diseased father's life through his personal journal. The secrets and deception lead Alice to greater understanding of her own life as well as her mother's.
My take away: motivation. What motivates our decisions big and small? Each character arch is developed based on their personal motivations and how perspective and understanding can change our motivations. Alice was in a place of seemingly unmotivation. She was stuck back with her widowed and dating mother just letting life go by. She thought she needed approval in order to move on with her life. What she learned was her own approval was all she really needed.
The question I ask myself is would I read this again? The answer is yes. And yes, make this a movie I can watch.
Alice Chang based her life and decisions on comfortably following her passions. This has led her to being in a place where she is starting all over again in her almost 40s. Alice learns about her diseased father's life through his personal journal. The secrets and deception lead Alice to greater understanding of her own life as well as her mother's.
My take away: motivation. What motivates our decisions big and small? Each character arch is developed based on their personal motivations and how perspective and understanding can change our motivations. Alice was in a place of seemingly unmotivation. She was stuck back with her widowed and dating mother just letting life go by. She thought she needed approval in order to move on with her life. What she learned was her own approval was all she really needed.
The question I ask myself is would I read this again? The answer is yes. And yes, make this a movie I can watch.
September 9, 2021
Solid quick read.
This was a quick audiobook listen but I had trouble getting into the book. Alice, the protagonist, was hard to like. She felt a bit out of sorts, which isn't a new condition, honestly. The past 20-30 years has made different expectations for American workers, not even counting cultural differences.
The wider story was far more interesting with the parents. So many layers. Even if I didn't like Alice's father at all. I understood the emotional impact of what happened and the answers.
I wish there has been a better wrap up but it left on a solid note for most part. The writing was solid for the most part. The Korean, American, and Korean-American experiences were very detailed and created a compelling narrative. I just couldn't get into the story.
This was a quick audiobook listen but I had trouble getting into the book. Alice, the protagonist, was hard to like. She felt a bit out of sorts, which isn't a new condition, honestly. The past 20-30 years has made different expectations for American workers, not even counting cultural differences.
The wider story was far more interesting with the parents. So many layers. Even if I didn't like Alice's father at all. I understood the emotional impact of what happened and the answers.
I wish there has been a better wrap up but it left on a solid note for most part. The writing was solid for the most part. The Korean, American, and Korean-American experiences were very detailed and created a compelling narrative. I just couldn't get into the story.
June 18, 2021
This book was a Goodreads Giveaway win and I am very glad that I entered and won it. It is a beautifully written, thought provoking story of love, loss and life. I enjoy books that contain passages from diaries or letters as that brings a whole other perspective to the story. The characters were real and at times, the story was deep and mysterious. Overall, a very good book.
July 5, 2021
Emotionally real
I loved this book. The plot moves at a good pace, the writing is rich yet spare, the characters are all rounded and real. It should be up there among the classics. Wish I could give it 6 stars.
I loved this book. The plot moves at a good pace, the writing is rich yet spare, the characters are all rounded and real. It should be up there among the classics. Wish I could give it 6 stars.
November 24, 2022
Wow - I loved this! It was hard to put down. Highly recommend and can’t believe it doesn’t have more ratings!
April 26, 2023
This book was a huge disappointment.
The subject was so predictable, and so were the characters.⭐⭐
The subject was so predictable, and so were the characters.⭐⭐
March 31, 2024
hmmmm
I don’t know if “emotional” is the word I’m looking for. This was a good story. Made me have some big feels for the characters and what they went through in their lives. So much can go on that we never see.
I don’t know if “emotional” is the word I’m looking for. This was a good story. Made me have some big feels for the characters and what they went through in their lives. So much can go on that we never see.
May 4, 2021
Quite A Dive Secret Diary
Fabulous book to read. The depth, the hidden passions, the intertwining of lives. Leaves you with good feelings and hope. Enjoyed the cultural nuances.Definitely you won't put this book down.
Fabulous book to read. The depth, the hidden passions, the intertwining of lives. Leaves you with good feelings and hope. Enjoyed the cultural nuances.Definitely you won't put this book down.
May 5, 2021
Great novel
I usually hate modern novels but this one was so different. I could not put it down until the last sentence
I usually hate modern novels but this one was so different. I could not put it down until the last sentence
May 6, 2021
Genuinely enjoyed the characters and their trajectories here. Fun little read.
But the narration is very "tell" rather than "show," which takes away from a lot of it.
But the narration is very "tell" rather than "show," which takes away from a lot of it.
June 5, 2021
For me this book did not live up to the hype I read about it. The love between the two deceased characters was not believable; we do not see them being loving. The deceased husband was such a sorry man. He made no one happy. His daughter Alice is left drifting in life until she is 39. How fortunate for her that she never reads the words her father wrote, or she might not have reached a point where she could move on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2021
Quite lovely. We follow a middle-aged Korean woman whose going through a divorce and has moved back in with her widowed mother. She has a wild, party-loving friend who drags her to clubs she doesn't want to be in an environment she doesn't fit in. Meanwhile, she finds a journal written by her deceased father and has it translated. What we learn is mind-blowing, wildly interesting, and emotionally devastating for the characters. It's a beautiful story that combines literary themes, mystery, and romance. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 382 reviews