THE FOREIGN STUDENT (SIGNED) [Paperback]

Susan Choi (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harperflamingo (1998)
• ASIN: B002ODE99O
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Novel That Stops Time, May 11, 2002

By 

"sofomtext" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Foreign Student: A Novel (Paperback)

I usually dislike reading KA fiction because it gets irritating when authors write about Korea but describe the country with skewed, distorted myths about it's culture and history and auto-Orientalist themes that cater to the mainstream.

Not so with this novel. I found myself completely lost in the story, not even caring about the "authenticity" issue because Choi does what all great writers do: she re-imagines and re-creates a palpable "real" universe that stops time. The fictional world transcends almost everything else I've read by Korean Americans, making you believe the characters, the location, the feelings. In short, it is a beautifully written novel and my personal favorite of all the Asian American novels I've read.

That having been said, I am happy to attest that Choi does indeed write about the truth of the Korean War that goes against the conventional American myths about this unknown conflict. Choi does not hesitate to go into little known aspects of the war such as S. Korean President Syngman Rhee's execution of political prisoners and the Cheju/Yosu rebellions which took 100,000 lives even before the Korean War erupted in June 1950. Moreover, Choi depicts the Orientalist, racist experiences for Chang, a foreigner in America's South, and subtly links it to America's damaging foreign policies that warped Korea. She even resurrects a devastatingly convincing portrait of Gen. Hodge, the commander of the US military government in S. Korea--you can practically hear him breathing and speaking. This novel is startling in its audacity to depict America's occluded responsibility for the war that probably even challenges what most Koreans over 50 believe. As a former fact-checker for the New Yorker magazine, I suspect that she used her skills to do meticulous research into the origins of the Korean War. Having lived in Korea (and in Chicago, where her description of Clark and Belmont is right on) I am surpised by her accuracy and the "truth" of her details. I've read an article where Choi downplays the "authenticity" issue of her novel, and emphasizes that it is fiction. She's right, of course, but I am simply delighted that she has rendered a beautiful story that will not only impress the common reader, but satisfy those familiar with Korean history. Her research only heightens the pleasure of reading this gem of a novel.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The _Creep_ of Love, April 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Foreign Student: A Novel (Hardcover)

There's no doubt that Choi is a fine writer. Her descriptive powers are phenomenal; line by line, this novel is a gem. But what really stands out in this debut is Choi's intense psychological digging of her two main characters. To say that she gets into their heads would be a great understatement. When you read this book, you live these two characters' lives -- and goodness, what lonely lives they lead. I think that's why the scenes between Chuck and Katherine smolder -- because they are two lonely people fighting their own battles through their love for each other. For me, the best part of the book was seeing the _creep_ of love, the way it climbs like ivy -- slowly and in tangles, its resilience and its power to bore through -- even through the stone exteriors of these two characters.

Furthermore, I believe this is the first work to actually use the Korean War as a significant backdrop. Kudos for you, Ms. Choi -- somebody had to do it, and I'm glad it was you, because you did it right.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING, September 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Foreign Student: A Novel (Paperback)

This is by far the best-written work I've come across that deals with issues inclduing the Korean War, Koreans in America, etc. But more than that, it's a novel of manners about the South in the 1950's. I'd given up on a lot of stuff that is categorized under "Asian American fiction," but this is one of those novels that you don't want to put down. It's beautifully written, evocative, and the best novel--in any category-- that I've read in years.