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4.0
I'll Be Right There
ByPublisher Description
How friendship, European literature, and a charismatic professor defy war, oppression, and the absurd
Set in 1980s South Korea amid the tremors of political revolution, I’ll Be Right There follows Jung Yoon, a highly literate, twenty-something woman, as she recounts her tragic personal history as well as those of her three intimate college friends. When Yoon receives a distressing phone call from her ex-boyfriend after eight years of separation, memories of a tumultuous youth begin to resurface, forcing her to re-live the most intense period of her life. With profound intellectual and emotional insight, she revisits the death of her beloved mother, the strong bond with her now-dying former college professor, the excitement of her first love, and the friendships forged out of a shared sense of isolation and grief.
Yoon’s formative experiences, which highlight both the fragility and force of personal connection in an era of absolute uncertainty, become immediately palpable. Shin makes the foreign and esoteric utterly her use of European literature as an interpreter of emotion and experience bridges any gaps between East and West. Love, friendship, and solitude are the same everywhere, as this book makes poignantly clear.
Set in 1980s South Korea amid the tremors of political revolution, I’ll Be Right There follows Jung Yoon, a highly literate, twenty-something woman, as she recounts her tragic personal history as well as those of her three intimate college friends. When Yoon receives a distressing phone call from her ex-boyfriend after eight years of separation, memories of a tumultuous youth begin to resurface, forcing her to re-live the most intense period of her life. With profound intellectual and emotional insight, she revisits the death of her beloved mother, the strong bond with her now-dying former college professor, the excitement of her first love, and the friendships forged out of a shared sense of isolation and grief.
Yoon’s formative experiences, which highlight both the fragility and force of personal connection in an era of absolute uncertainty, become immediately palpable. Shin makes the foreign and esoteric utterly her use of European literature as an interpreter of emotion and experience bridges any gaps between East and West. Love, friendship, and solitude are the same everywhere, as this book makes poignantly clear.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesI'll Be Right There Reviews
4.0
“my fave book in jhs. i read this before a major life event happens 10/10 EVERYTIMEE”
“I really don’t know how to review this. it was just so good. kyung-sook shin delivers the truth of loneliness so well that I also got roped into the story and characters, they made me sad too 😭🥺 my heart goes out to yoon and myungsuh 😭 they are such mature characters in that they know they each have their own traumas they carry and because they love each other so much, they are willing to be apart so that they don’t hurt each other with their past traumas….. uHHH KYUNG SOOK SHIN I LUV U”“ʚɞ “I hope you will never hesitate to say, i’ll be right there.” ʚɞ
I’ll Be Right There is a powerful novel about young people in their 20s trying to find their way through difficult and heartbreaking times.
Set in South Korea during the 80s/90s, the story follows characters whose lives are shaped by love, separation, and personal hardships.
Even though they care for one another, the pain they carry makes it hard to stay connected, and their struggle to reunite feels both realistic and honest.
This novel is a powerful reflection on trauma, longing, and the complicated journey back to those who mattered most before.
ʚɞ “I hope you all have someone who always makes you want to say, let’s remember this day forever.” ʚɞ”
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