Strange but also heartfelt, this story of how family and identity can take someone to the brink, is sad and moving. A testament to mental stability, family expectations and the importance of being who we are. Here is my book review When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley.

Min, a Korean American man working in Seoul for Samsung, is devastated when he learns the Korean women he has been dating has committed suicide. He begins a long and dangerous search for answers.

Yu-jin was a beautiful, ambitious, smart and happy young women, in love with Min…or so he thought. But the real Yu-jin was someone completely different. Someone playing a dangerous game in a country that does not accept anyone who is “different’.

But an even greater danger to Yu-jin and then to Min as he searches for answers, is Yu-jin’s parent. Her father a high ranking government official and her mother who sets appearances above all else, will go to great lengths to keep Yu-jin’s secret under wraps…lengths that threaten the lives of Min and Yu-jins closest friends.

It’s a novel that gives close inspection to the social expectations of South Korea, while also opening a window to understanding the Korean/American status in the United States. A very poignant story.

Thank you for reading my Book Review When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley.

Read last week’s book review This Time Tomorrow by Emma Staub.

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