Customer Reviews

When My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Frances Park has created an absolutely mesmerizing character in the form of Cleopatra Moon. A young woman with the power to captivate all males who cross her path, expressed in terms which are both poetic and sensually unique to Ms. Park's writing style. As the novel progresses we are provided with clues which indicate that turbulent and unexpectedly vulnerable inner worlds exist within Cleopatra and her initially adoring younger sister. The story twists and shatters stereotypical expectations with the richness of the characters. Yet in the background we see gradually emerge a loving portrait of an often absent father who becomes a multi-layered symbol for redemption and the re-integration of portions of the soul which the two sisters have misplaced over the years.

The two sisters are very much the product of the American 1970's, yet Ms. Park is also able to masterfully convey the Korean-American experience through the character of the mother and her relationship to the two daughters.

Cleopatra is so charismatic that the reader would initially be willing to fall under her spell for the entire length of the novel. Read Chapter Two as a separate work of art in this regard. Yet Frances Park has done far more than create a host of intriguing characters. She has created situations in which initial suspicions yield to deeper meanings over sometimes traumatic and sometimes wryly humorous flows of time. The reader will reflect upon the nature of his or her own relationships and the continuing impact of unresolved emotions of the past. This is a book to be read several times over.

Though sisters, Korean-Americans Cleo and Marcy have not talked for years. That changes when the forty-two years old Cleo calls to tell her younger sister that her husband Stu just died. Apparently, the wealthy Stu lost control of the car when lightning suddenly struck right in front of him. Marcy drops everything to race to Cleo's side to help her with the funeral even knowing the true dark side of her sibling and that she probably never loved Stu.

Marcy thinks back to when they were young and she idolized her gorgeous and fiery unconventional (at least in the Korean culture) sister. That is until Cleo left for college, came back on summer break, and left again for school, leaving Marcy to contend with their Korean born mother who never adjusted to her new country. Marcy resented Cleo then and resents her now as she watches a pro shed crocodile tears to gain sympathy from Stu's side.

WHEN MY SISTER WAS CLEOPATRA MOON is an incredible novel that works on three levels: the rivalry between sisters, the Korean-American 1970s experience, and the difficulty of an immigrant to adapt to this country. The story line is insightful yet quite entertaining as readers will appreciate the key players. If this novel is any indication of her talent, Frances Park is going to become a star as she provides her readers with a convincing character study.

Harriet Klausner

I loved this book. Being of Korean decent I am always drawn to Korean books. This is one of the most enjoyable books I've read yet. The symbolism and depth of character continues to haunt me after finishing the book last month. Cleo is the older sister who lives life boldly... Marcy whom the story is told by is the exact opposite of Cleo. I most enjoyed the interactions between Marcy and Cleo's two children. The story is funny and quick moving... I could not put it down. I believe the depiction of two women struggling between being Korean and American at the same time (first generational korean that is) was beautifully conveyed to the reader. It's hard to go wrong with this winner!

Cleopatra Moon emerges from the early pages of this novel as a woman who radiates an almost charismatic sexuality. The impressions she conveys to the hapless men in her path create a hopeless role model for her younger and initially adoring sister. Both women change in the face of the darker sides of sexual experience and their reaction to the events reflects the differences in their personalities. Vulnerability and strength emerge when least expected to form part of a very convincing and satisfying portrayal of the complexities of the human condition.

The author's writing style is extraordinary. She has a wonderful ear for idiom and dialogue which she combines with poetic skill to bring us into the deepest mindsets of her characters. One isolated example of her skill lies in the subtle portrait of Cleopatra. We leave the novel with a precise image of this extrordinary woman yet upon rereading the book we see that Frances Park has created this image with very light and often indirect touches like a refined Chinese poem where the art of the author is demonstrated by the ability to awaken the creative power of the reader.

The book has a number of important subthemes including the possibility of redemption through the love felt for a deceased father whose influence touches from beyond the grave. This element of the book is crafted with great skill and operates in a manner which defies convention and expectation.

Frances Park has created a very impressive piece of fiction.

Hip, glib, fast, and funny. As a KA male, I was expecting NOT to like it, but I found myself laughing out loud. A book about the Korean American experience during the '70s, the characters are very Americanized. But they experience loss, racism, and sadness just like everybody else. One note: although this novel is breezy with snappy dialogue, there are really poignant descriptions of her father. It's very moving, stirring to see her father's letters to the daughters--beautiful.

This is a powerful yet subtle work that contains extraordinary insights on a whole range of important subjects: love, redemption, sibling bonds and rivalries, father-daughter relationships, and, not least, the experience of being Korean-American.

The author obviously has a huge emotional investment in this story, but manages beautifully to tell it briskly and without excessive sentimentality.

Perhaps the best recommendation for a book is that you hate to see it coming to an end. That was certainly the case here and, having read it, one is left in eager anticipation of Frances Park's next book. This is an exciting breakthrough by an important new author.

My expectations were to enjoy a straightforward text that entertained without extraneous meaning or verbose peripheral stories that distracted from the story. Immediately you find yourself involved with the storyline and the familiar images it conveys. The nostalgia of adolescent meloncholy, sibling admiration/rivalry,disconnects with parents, the bonds of friendship...I think that in describing a Korean-American family, the author actually identifies characteristics that we can all identify with regardless of our background.

The author does a fantastic job of describing the relationships and distinctions between the main characters, sisters who have taken very different approaches to the world in which they live. You find yourself feeling love, confusion, and contempt for the title character, Cleo, along with Marci, and can readily identify how these undercurrents remain unresolved for many years.

This book does jump, chapter to chapter, from the past to the present, but I feel that this is not at all difficult to distinguish and is relevant to the development of the plot. There were some areas that were not fully developed, specifically, what happened to the sisters following Cleo's second departure and the present frame of the story. This book did deliver what I expected-an interesting straightforward read that was easily completed in a weekend.

Cleo and Marcy are sisters that grew up and grew apart. They are reunited over the death of Cleo's husband. Growing up Marcy idolized her older sister and her life. Cleo was a wild girl who's life really wasn't all that great as Marcy finds out. As you read the story, you go from present time then back to the past when the girls were growing up first generation Americans. The story kept me interested from start to finish. It was a humorous story yet sad. Frances Park's storytelling reminds me of an Amy Tan novel. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Having lived in both Maryland and California, I can almost feel like I have heard about the incredible Moon family; they are soooo real to me. Frances Park does justice to describing the challeges that Korean American teens face growing up in a white American suburb. Whoever said this book was a C minus, c'mon, it is more than just a coming-of-age-Oprahesque tale of some ethnic sisters. Why? because somewhere in California, Australia or Canada, for that matter, many Korean teens still sruggle with the same challenges faced by Cleo and Marcy. Biggest challenge that Moon sisters had was fitting in with their own Korean family, NOT how to deal with racism from majority peers. (By the way, Cleo deals with it so well that she decided to run over Marcy's white boyfriend in her Mustang.) Marcy and Cleo grow up only to find themselves as strangers to their own home - especially to their mother who speaks pidgin English. Yeet these teens are still being perceived as "outsiders" to their peers. How come they become strangers to both? This is probably the first book that ever dealt with this irony of the Korean American community so directly. And am very glad Frances pulls it off beautifully. One last thing. i thought it was well done how Cleo's name, as her identity, went back and forth. First it was "Kisook Moon" and to "Cleo Moon" and from "Cleo" to "Cleopatra" at the peak of her most mischievous years and then back to "Kisook" as she returns to college. However, after all the years, she settles as "Cleo" not with her Korean name.

The relationship between Marcy and her older sister Cleo hit very close to home for me. I was intrigued by the down-to-earth dialogue in this book. The family's commitment to the father's mental well-being is very touching (unlike, "Joy Luck Club," which focuses on mothers and daughters, this book focuses on the love-hate relationship between sisters and bonding that can take place between father and daughter). Very touching and memorable.