Book Review: Somewhere Inside: One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Other's Fight to Bring Her Home

I  first picked up this book because I saw the authors were Laura Ling & Lisa Ling; In 2009 I had been following the story of Laura's arrest and imprisonment  in North Korea I also have been a fan of Lisa Ling's journalism style for a while, as her perspectives on cultural issues and her sensitivity during interviews with something  I appreciated.

This book was a solid read, I enjoyed it due to my own interest in both Asian and the Ling sisters. I found the story fascinating from the perspective of both Laura and Lisa, as the one was trying to help the other return home as the other was faced with the realization of captivity and not being able to return home.

The book delved into parts of North Korean policy, culture, and government relationships  it took to release Laura, but also Laura's detailed account of her time in captivity was one that was full of the anxiety of the unknown.

I'm glad I picked up this non-fiction read as it held my interest surrounding East Asian Culture and a journalist I admire for her work.

A modern tale of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester in Flushing NYC

A tale of a different Jane rather an updated version. A Korean-American Jane 

Eyre or "Jane Re,"  who hails as an orphan with an Korean mother and an American Father. Jane is sent from South Korea as a baby by her grandfather to go with her Uncle Sang and his family to Flushing, Queens. There Patricia Park's take on Jane Eyre adds a creative twist and entirely different perspective. This book takes you from Flushing, Queens where Jane a recent college graduate who plans are part on hold for not being hired by a firm, and ends up helping her Uncle with his convenience store in Flushing. Then, Jane accepts a job as a nanny for the Mazer-Farley family in Brooklyn, which is made up of the wife, a professor of women studies who is constantly looking for some sort of appreciation from everyone she is around and her husband  Ed Farley, "Mr. Rochester" who in this book was not as well developed as he could have been but in some ways I'm glad, because when Jane leaves him, I am quite happy, as I did not grow attached or like his interactions with Jane. 

Jane's escape from the Mazer-Farley family is the phone call from her Uncle Sang that her grandfather is dying, and she needs to fly to South Korea. Jane at this moment faces having slept with her employer, Ed Farley and deciding to leave to avoid facing Ed's wife. Her escape is much like a time capsule being discovered as she lands in Seoul and meets her grandfather, and her Aunt her cared for her as a baby for the first time. Her grandfather's judgmental tone and  demands he places on her Uncle Sang, causes Jane to rethink her Uncle Sang. She sees past Sang's own demanding nature and after stories of her Uncles close relationship to his sister, Jane's mother, who passed away in a fire. Jane decides to stay in South Korea with her Aunt and Elder Uncle as her American family Uncle Sang, his wife Hanna, and two children head back to the states. 

There Jane becomes an glorified English teacher, that her South Korean born colleagues feel has unfairly been hired due to her having an American background. Resentment in the workplace and dating her Korean born boyfriend. Jane, reinvents herself, by applying make-up, being in style like any Seoul girl would, and dressing up.

This desire to fit in by Jane with wearing different clothes, high heels, and makeup. Also her new boyfriend, causes her American friend, Nina a fellow nanny from Brooklyn to question Jane's authenticity to herself. She grows weary of Jane's show and quickly heads back to Brooklyn. 

Jane's journey of self discovery as she decides to travel back to Flushing to be with her Uncle Sang, and his family, to pursue a job in her field, and begins to also have grown in her relationships. She says goodbye to Ed Farley "Mr. Rochester" as she moves on, and realizes she is more than what she has pretended.

She embraces her life as Jane Re, South Korean born with an American father, being raised by her uncle as first generation Korean American in Flushing, Queens, and realizing she can be both Korean, and American. She embraces her traits, and realizes she doesn't have to choose one over the other.

A character a day...

Uptight, one long braid down her back, sprigs of blonde curls escaping, her hazel eyes focused on something in the distance, her hands clung tightly to her article.
The article she wrote, but her name wasn't on it. Her name was Mina Koppen. The name on the article was Jonathon Miraz, She didn't understand, she had written the article for the student newspaper, she had turned it in to her Editor Jonathon, and somehow his name appears on her writing,  How does this happen, did he think of her as someone who he could easily dupe???

She had told him, how proud she was of her article of precise research about the matter of Professors using their tenure as an excuse to not hold class. She was so proud of all the interviews she had done, research, discussions, and even had hosted an open forum for students to come and talk about their experiences. Somehow, this Jonathon just decided he could easily delete her name, and not change any of the article and publish it as his.

Her eyes were start to tear up and become watery. I will not cry, I will not cry she whispers, I'm stronger than this. She reminds herself that she was a strong women and not afraid. She would get Jonathon back, she just had to think. She wiped the tears lingering across the bridge of her nose, onto her cardigan.

She started to think of possible scenarios, she had the option to report him to the academic dean and he would easily lose his position, and face academic expulsion from the university.

Hmmm...

Pizza and FanGirl

Today, I spent my day after work enjoying my favorite thin crust pizza with feta and olives, and reading the book: "FanGirl" by Rainbow Rowell. This is a light read, a young adult book, and one that I found entertaining. I enjoyed the concept of Cath a freshman college student, trying to figure out who she is apart from her twin sister Wren, and how college life fits in with her fan fiction writing career. The character of Cath and my favorite boyfriend Leo, who has a endearing personality. It's a good book selection for one of those days you need something heartwarming. I'll say with pizza and a good work of fiction, I'm set for a Monday night! Read on!