Though we were in frequent conversation for a decade, I only got to meet my friend Alice Wong in person just once. And when I did, I was a
seen from Malaysia
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Though we were in frequent conversation for a decade, I only got to meet my friend Alice Wong in person just once. And when I did, I was a
And the River Drags Her Down review
5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy horror, resurrection, sisterly bonds, came back Wrong
Big thanks to Knopf Books, Netgalley and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I'm going to be honest, I think Soojin shows a lot of restraint regarding her sister. The blurb makes it sound like she does ahead and resurrects Mirae right away, but in reality it takes her almost a year before she finally hits the point where she can't imagine continuing the rest of her life without her sister. She knows her dad wouldn't like the resurrection, and she figures she knows her sister's thoughts on it, but at the end of the day, grief is grief, and sometimes it can be too much. If you could bring back the dead...would you?
It's clear from the get-go that Soojin is prickly. But she's prickly because she feels deeply, and life has not been kind to her family. Her mother died when she was 10, resulting in her father retreating into himself for a while, and then seven years later her sister dies and due to her father's work, he yet again can't be around. She also doesn't particularly have a social life, leading to her being very lonely and often just left with her grief. Soojin loves her family, and her sister, dearly and it's clear in the way she's willing to risk everything just to have her sister with her again.
Over the course of the book, we see Soojin start to unfurl a little and open herself up to the other people around her. Part of that is borne from a desire for connection, and part of it is the joy of having Mirae around again. But clinging to the past just makes it that much harder to let go, and when you have a dead girl living in your house, things inevitably start going wrong. A lot of Soojin's journey in this book is about letting go, but it's also about seeing the family dynamics beyond herself and understanding that life has been unfair to her sister as well.
We don't get too much insight into Mirae, but we know that drowning has given her a special connection with water. She enjoys being alive again, getting to experience the delights of food and sunshine, but at the same time, vengeance calls to her. The Han family has been wronged more than once, by people still living happy lives in their town, and newly risen Mirae can't resist the call of revenge.
While this book is, in some ways, about vengeance, it's also about sisterly bonds and family responsibility. Soojin wants her sister back, but Mirae? Mirae wants life. She has since before she died. When Soojin brings her back, the whole family has to contend with their past and the actions they took that lead to where they are today. It was kind of cathartic to see Soojin and her dad finally talk about something of substance. They definitely needed that chat, but it was also a good reminder to Soojin that everyone makes small mistakes, but that doesn't mean they're at fault for the terrible things that happen.
The other character who's featured a lot in this is Mark, a childhood friend of Soojin and Mirae's whom Soojin drifted away from after their mother died. He provides somewhat of a stabilizing and soothing influence for Soojin as she grapples first with her sister's return and then later with the fact that the Mirae who came back isn't quite the same as the one who died. I liked Mark, he's very understanding and is pretty much a go-with-the-flow kind of person. He also is the one who finally puts his foot down regarding Mirae's behaviors, and though Soojin fights him on it, she knows he's right, and I think it was helpful to hear from someone outside the family.
Overall this is an excellent slow-burn horror with sisterly bonds, ancestral magic, and vengeance.
What Makes Me a Woman? Answers Through The Works of Asian Authors
by Isobelle Cruz [March 17, 2025]
What does it take for me to be a woman? What things do I have to know? What do I have to experience? Who do I have to like? How am I supposed to dress? To look? To think? To act?
Over the years, I have asked myself these questions numerous times. And at some point, I thought I had the answers—until it started to seem impossible to be so many things at once. Hence, in celebration of this year’s National Women’s Month, here are four books written by Asian authors that have helped me realize that being a woman cannot be defined by a single answer:
Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
A woman can be imperfect.
Mieko Kawakami, a Japanese author known for her other works such as Heaven and All the Lovers in the Night, may just be my favorite author as of today. Breasts and Eggs visualizes the contemporary womanhood found in Japan and follows the story of three women navigating their uncertainties as they confront their relationships with each other and their own bodies.
“They were really something.” Makiko let out a reverent sigh. “It’s a miracle for Asians to be born with nipples that pink.”
Page 53 of Breasts and Eggs
My breasts were in the middle of the mirror. Little, just like Makiko’s. Brown and bumpy nipples. My hips had barely any shape, but there was flesh around my belly button, stretch marks curving around my sides.
Page 147 of Breasts and Eggs
It was my first time seeing such a vivid and realistic description of a female body that felt dangerously close to home. It validated the insecurities I thought I was crazy to have at such a young age and comforted me more than anyone else could. Breasts and Eggs perfectly captures the slow but feverish pain that comes with feeling alienated from one’s own body and sexuality. Reading this at an age when I was so scared to explore my potential both physically and emotionally became an essential part of my growth as a woman.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
A woman can be stubborn.
Pachinko is written in a way that makes you feel as if you are living the character’s lives first hand—all the pain, disappointment, and longing for change suddenly feels so real and quick. Although it focuses more on the discrimination and divide between Korea and Japan in history, we see the process of how Sunja, an innocent and adored teenager falls into the arms of a wealthy stranger who leaves her pregnant, unmarried, and betrayed.
“I am carrying your child.”
He opened his eyes and paused.
”Are you certain?”
”Yes, I think so.”
”Well.” He smiled.
”Oppa?” She studied his serious face.
“I have a wife and three children. In Osaka.”
Page 47 of Pachinko
Pachinko leads us through the lengthy, painful life of Sunja as she tries her best to provide her sons with the best life she could afford. Min Jin Lee shows us the sacrifices of women, especially mothers, in a male-dominated society. Sunja is a representation of how women can be both strong and stubborn at the same time.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
A woman can be difficult.
Crying in H Mart is a memoir by Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, in which, instead of highlighting her career as a musician, she paints a portrait of grief and the complexity that comes with mother-daughter relationships.
There was no one in the world that was ever as critical or could make me feel as hideous as my mother did, but there was no one, not even Peter, who ever made me feel as beautiful.
Zauner perfectly encapsulates the frustrations of the push-and-pull relationships of Asian mothers and daughters—that no matter how many times they make us doubt and turn away, it is still a mother’s embrace we fall back into in difficult times, no matter how hard we try to resist.
What she meant was that no matter how much you thought you loved someone, or thought they loved you, you never gave all of yourself. Save 10 percent always, so there was something to fall back on.
And sometimes, when that 10 percent feels a little too big to occupy, our mothers come to save the day.
A woman is so much more than the perfect, beautiful things we are expected to be—we can be confused, stubborn, difficult, blunt, and a little crazy sometimes—and that, exactly, is what makes us a woman.
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ intro time! ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
❁ name: Dio S. Kim ❁ nickname: Hiro / Hirohiko / Dios / Dio ❁ pronouns: any pronouns (just not it) ❁ vibe: asian (mixed bloodline — unfortunately cause of colonizers)
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ what i do ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
❁ i write + create original stories ❁ i make art & do commissions ❁ specialties: dark fantasy, worldbuilding, supernatural narratives, character-driven storytelling
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ current projects ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
❁ Borders of Fiction ✧ action, adventure, isekai, vampires ✧ when fantasy and reality collide
❁ Honorables ✧ dark, contemporary, political romance ✧ a manga artist's controversial research
❁ I Was Assigned to be a Cleaner of the Towers/Domains ✧ dark fantasy, supernatural, psychological ✧ who takes care of the domains?
❁ The Uneventful Life of an Adventurer: In the end, it is the world ✧ fantasy, grief, peace-keeping ✧ a healer's untold stories ✧ what happens after the adventurers leave?
˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ let's connect ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
❁ webtoon:
webtoons.com/u/DiosKim
https://tapas.io/HirohikoHorikoshi
❁ twitter/x: @diosnpckim
❁ threads/ig: eroi.kohorikoshi
❁ commissions & tips: ko-fi.com/hihimry (or help me get V-Gen code! thank you!) ❁ Mails!: [email protected]
– Ann Liang, If You Could See the Sun
the dead haunt the living to let them know they are still there but when the living leave, they are gone and you are haunted by absence.
no ghosts, some things won’t survive, Reina Regina
I know I am not the first reviewer to say this, but Last Night at the Telegraph Club is exactly the sort of book I was looking for in high school. It is a compelling historical fiction novel centered around a protagonist whose story so rarely gets told, but in Lo’s capable hands, no part of this feels unfamiliar. I was able to both see myself and learn where I did not, and when I finally closed the book, it left me feeling whole in the way that all my favorite books do. I cannot recommend it enough.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo was reviewed at the Lesbrary.