“An immersive, heartbreaking story about war, passion, and the road not taken.” — People“One of the most beautiful and moving love stories you’ll read this year.” — Nylon MagazineNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • The New York Post • Vulture • Real Simple • Bustle • Nylon • Thrillist • Mental Floss • Self magazine • Booklist • Refinery 29An emotionally riveting debut … Post • Vulture • Real Simple • Bustle • Nylon • Thrillist • Mental Floss • Self magazine • Booklist • Refinery 29
An emotionally riveting debut novel about war, family, and forbidden love—the unforgettable saga of two ill-fated lovers in Korea and the heartbreaking choices they’re forced to make in the years surrounding the civil war that still haunts us today.
When the communist-backed army from the north invades her home, sixteen-year-old Haemi Lee, along with her widowed mother and ailing brother, is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night, she escapes her family’s makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan.
Focused on finishing school, Kyunghwan doesn’t realize his older and wealthier cousin, Jisoo, has his sights set on the beautiful and spirited Haemi—and is determined to marry her before joining the fight. But as Haemi becomes a wife, then a mother, her decision to forsake the boy she always loved for the security of her family sets off a dramatic saga that will have profound effects for generations to come.
Richly told and deeply moving, If You Leave Me is a stunning portrait of war and refugee life, a passionate and timeless romance, and a heartrending exploration of one woman’s longing for autonomy in a rapidly changing world.
more
I won arc copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. In return for honest review. I loved this book so much. This book is set between 1951 and 1967. This book is in five parts. Which made reading easy to read. In the part we meet three young kids named Haemi and Jisoo and Kyunghwan trapped in the middle of Korea war. Haemi lives with her mother and her little brother. Haemi and Kyunghwan are childhood friends who run off and meet up with each other. Jisoo and Kyunghwan are cousins. Jisoo stays with Kyunghwan and his father because of the war him and his family have separated. Jisoo has decided he wants to enlist into the war but before he does that he wants to marry Haemi. Later in the parts we read from the point of views of Haemi brother Hyunki and Haemi oldest daughter Solee We are taken into these young people lives and how the war has effected their lives. Haemi is a character I will never forget. I felt her pain and her sadness and her heartache. Amazing book I highly recommended this book. I learned a lot and felt for these characters too. This book comes out August 8,2018 Thank you again goodreads for this giveaway.
A gripping, heartrending tale of the birth of modern Korea filtered through the prism of an intimate love story. In fresh, often astonishing prose, Kim brings her characters to life: complicated, flawed, and hard not to fall in love with. A strikingly original work.
In Crystal Hana Kim’s debut novel: If You Leave Me, multiple narrators allow us to bear witness to female lead character: Haemi Lee as a practical life choice at the young age of sixteen impacts her and those around her for years to come. It’s not news that women fulfill a wide variety of roles in our one short lifetime. Some are by choice, some are not…and this is the main theme threaded throughout this novel: choice. Set in the 1950’s and 1960’s in war-torn Korea, Haemi’s ability to choose is hindered due to a wide variety of factors, gender roles being on top. Crystal Hana Kim shows how deeply scarring this can be. It seems that war isn’t the only thing that leaves lingering trauma. Imagine that.
My favorite (but also the saddest) element of this novel involved Haemi in her role of motherhood. It’s not always rainbows and butterflies. In Haemi’s case, it can feel like imprisonment. Having gone through postpartum depression myself, this condition feels isolating enough as it is. I couldn’t fathom living in a time and place where it doesn’t even have a name. But of course women of that time were expected to be grateful, submissive, adoring, and to be anything less was deeply problematic. Haemi is none of these. She is a character full of regret, independence, and longing, and the trickle effect onto the other characters is palpable right to the end. Diverse, personal, and skillfully layered, If You Leave Me is a beautifully written saga that I’m glad I read.
An engrossing story of love, family, and war on the Korean peninsula. Timely and timeless—a beautiful debut.
If You Leave Me marks the debut of a striking new voice. An unforgettable story of family, love, and war set against the violent emergence of modern Korea, Crystal Hana Kim has a gift for the lasting image. Moment by moment, her characters come alive.
A remarkably absorbing novel of people enduring the unendurables of war with grace, toughness, and undying love. If You Leave Me marks the debut of a born storyteller.
If You Leave Me is a thrilling debut, a lyrical and lovely novel that beautifully showcases Crystal Hana Kim’s emotional intelligence and empathy for her characters.
If You Leave Me is graced with truly wonderful writing; great poise, lyricism, intelligence, and an utterly engrossing portrayal of life.
Haven’t stopped thinking about the characters since I finished reading this book. Lots to think about and am sure the main character had ptsd mixed with post pardum depression. Well written book
If You Leave Me is exhilarating… Crystal Hana Kim has written a novel that teaches us and guides us, one that captures majestically, perfectly, not only our histories but our present and our future.