Customer Reviews

Kept: A Comedy of Sex and Manners

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

euny has a sense of humor palpable to all. it made me chuckle the whole way through. her intelligence and knowledge of her topics are evident in her literary, cultural and social references. brimming with references to philosophy, literature and mainstream culture, it still carries along light-heartedly.

the scarce portrayal of korean families and culture in current literature are surely made up for in this read. she brings a refreshing insight to the struggles of an ancient tradition adjusting to modern society.

this book certainly captivated me until the end.

Reading this book was the one thing I looked forward to every day for a week. I love Judith ("Jude"), the main character, she's hilarious and very real. She is from a family of Korean bluebloods but is deep in credit card debt, so she becomes a prostitute with several other girls for an exclusive and high-class clientele in NYC. The story moves along quickly and keeps you in suspense until the very end. Jude is something of a snob, but weirdly she is also very relatable and endearing. I give the author credit for treating issues of race, sex, religion, family, and class with intelligence and honesty. A great read! I hope she comes out with a sequel.

I didn't like the cover design and the subtitle, but the book is great. I read my parent's copy while I was at their house and could not put the book down.

Euny is a very talented author and the storyline is interesting. The writing is eloquent and funny at the same time. The book provides a view of America from the perspective of Judith, a well-educated foreigner with a bit of an attitude. Judith falls into a bit of a financial predicament that leads her to travel through a series of very interesting life experiences. The readers are taken through the world of Korean and Jewish communities in America and through the upper class societies in New York and Seoul.

I was a little hesitant to pick it up because of the cover (pretty cheesy design) and blurb, but I ended up really enjoying it. The author is adept at spinning the English language in witty and often amusing ways. My only criticism would be that I think overall the writing overtakes the storyline, which I found less compelling than the narration. But in the same way as I'd sit happily through a reading by an exciting/engaging reader even if the content of the talk wasn't up to par (whereas I'd walk myself right out of one with a boring speaker even if the subject of the talk was interesting), I still recommend this book quite highly.

On a side note, I can see the author executing very well a compilation of non-fiction witty observation pieces, a la Fran Lebowitz or David Sedaris. In any case, I'll be looking out for her next book.

A wonderful read. Euny Hong manages a startling combination of humor, erudition, and poignancy. The story centers around a main character (Judith), and her experience as a high-class prostitute. The reader develops both an intense affection for the bright, straight talking protaganist, and also some amount of revulsion for the self-obsessed, class-conscious character. It is this tension which keeps the reader fascinated, and propels the story. At some point one becomes so attached to Judith, and so bound up in the narrative, that there is nothing to be done but to finish the book in a single sitting.

Y. Hong is a good writer; literate, interesting, entertaining, and above all, witty. Unfortunately, I did not like the characters in this book, and I don't think the author does either. They are shallow, upper-class twits; intellectual misfits; walking Bartlett'ses, so devoid of interior life that they are positively cringe-worthy. If you don't like the characters, it's hard to like the book, no matter how good it is in other ways.

To be enjoyable, satire has to be clear-eyed - and the author is - but it also has to find something to care about, whatever it might be, in its characters so that the reader wants to spend the time with them. That's where "Kept" falls down.

A near miss, but almost a hit, and I'll look forward to reading her next one.

Although the cover is somewhat trashy, I'm glad I picked up this book. It was a quick read, fun, and a great break from studying. It gets fairly intense at times, and sometimes the author comes off slightly pretentious with all of the classical references (which more often than not seemed unnecessary). Still, it was a thoroughly enjoyable novel.

I'm also excited about the prospect of having more Asian American writers published widely, and that more Asian American characters are appearing in non-stereotypical roles in literature these days. If that appeals to you as well, definitely pick up this book.

Kept is a quick, entertaining read. Judith Lee is an Korean aristocrat with lazy and super-snobby tendencies. Given her privileged background but cash-poor existence, she embarks on an ill-advised tenure as a courtesan(which requires her to block her fallopian tubes). She is not bothered by her moral apathy until she meets Joshua Spinoza, a poor but brilliant grad student. Despite Judith's crass and priggish attitude, they start seeing each other. Drama, trauma,and idealogical debates ensue.

On one hand,the book is pleasant and interesting enough to almost over some flawed plot points. On the other hand, Judith, despite her amoral professional choice, self-imposed ennui, and selfishness, only bears witness to the possible risks of her chosen line of work. Except for her medical issue(for which she delayed treatment and for which she did not pay), she gets really lucky over and over.

In the end, only for the other characters do I give the book a moderate thumbs up.

As one reviewer already pointed out, it's difficult to like a story if none of the characters are worth caring about. I just didn't like anyone in this book. OK, maybe Spinoza gets some sympathy for having to inhabit the same realm as the rest of the shallow, crass souls in this novel.

An entertaining trip through the world of New York's (and Korea's) upper class, alongside an opinionated guide. Narrator Judith Lee's travails and her comments on art, society, and every other subject imaginable keep the story moving right to the end.