Heart and humanity shine through in essays that speak to a fierce love of family and longing for home.
A fresh take on the Korean American memoir by a writer from a generation whose voice has seldom been heard.
Unlike most Korean Americans, who emigrated after the late 1960s, Park’s father was part of a small wave of Korean scholars who left shortly after the Korean War ended. In this memoir in essays, a collection of previously published pieces, the author describes the eagerness with which her cosmopolitan father—a Harvard-educated economist who worked for the World Bank—embraced the “American way of life” for his family. Park adeptly captures little details of a bygone era: her father’s love for Reader’s Digest, references to Camel cigarettes or Saturday night barbecues, and “the sweet stuff of life: Juicy Fruit gum, butterscotch candies, 7-Ups.” Although her sketches of ordinary life are engaging, the narrative is less a memoir of the times, or cultural identity, than a story of loss. At its heart, this is an elegy to Park’s father, who died when the author was in her early 20s. These essays, she notes, are “love letters to my dad and his life, both glorious and cheated.” Though Park writes about other loved ones—her mother, a childhood friend, an old sweetheart, her ex-husband—all ultimately echo her defining loss, the beloved patriarch taken too young. Recalling the death of a beloved dog, the author writes, “You know Jefferson, I never got to say good-bye to my dad; he was here then gone forever. So, despite the tragic hour, I’m grateful I could say good-bye to you.” She revisits her last moments with her father repeatedly. Had she known he was near death, “I would have…grabbed my father so hard he could’ve never left this earth, not even if God, the angels, and fate willed it.” Yet despite the deep dive into grief, Park’s tender, self-aware voice is never maudlin, and her journey is relatable.
Heart and humanity shine through in essays that speak to a fierce love of family and longing for home.Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-942762-84-3
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Heliotrope Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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