Oxford Soju Club
a novel

(⭐2.75) I feel so bad I didn't understand most of this :( ☕︎ 1. Characters It was really quite difficult to keep track of who was who. I wasn't entirely sure whose perspective I was following, due to the rapid and numerous POV changes. I didn't really feel anything for the characters other than ummm I......more

I admit it. I got hopelessly lost with the audio version, so referred to the print version. However, since there are no dates included, it didn't help. The basic storyline appears to be about a N Korean cell working in Oxford to ... I'm not sure what ... but they are being chased by Americans (to ge......more

Oxford Soju Club is an engaging and intricate tale that explores themes of immigrants, identity, and the tension between North Koreans, South Koreans, and Americans. At its core, the book delves into the lives of various characters whose identities are often clouded by aliases, secretive motives, an......more

An espionage novel that rides the line between literary novel and thriller. There are thrills to be had, plenty of violence, but it's much more concerned with discovering who its characters are and slowly opening them up to the reader. The character we're most concerned with is Yohan, a North Korean......more

So you're saying I can only be your friend if I reject who I am? Oxford Soju Club, set in early 2012 in the aftermath of the death of Kim Jong-il, is both a spy thriller and an exploration of Korean immigrant identity, as the author explain in a foreword: On the surface, Oxford Soju Club is about a Ko......more