Go (Kaneshiro)
Not a review. Just a reminder of what I read recently.
I probably would not have read this were it not for Amazon's World Reading Day. As I did last year, I downloaded a bunch of free books from around the world. Last year, I only read two of them (so far).
Once again, I read a book by about a Korean living in Japan, but unlike A River in Darkness, Go wasn't anywhere near as depressing. That said, it wasn't particularly cheery either. The book was from 2000, which is something to keep in mind whenever there are mentions of technology or pop culture. Some references become dated.
The story follows Sugihara, whose family in Korean. When the North Korea had been founded, Koreans in Japan had to choose to register as North or South Korean. The book opens with his parents deciding to switch nationality to South Korean, so they'll be able to go to Hawaii. (At first, I thought they were moving there, but it's just a vacation.) Sugihara takes this opportunity to get out of Korean school and attend a Japanese school.
School life is rough, but Sugihara has an undefeated record beating up all challengers who would make his life miserable. (Not to mention the ones who think that they could make a name for themselves if they get in a lucky punch that takes him down.) Since Sugihara was taught by his father, a one-time professional boxer, who also slaps him around a bit, he isn't easy to take down.
One of his friends is Katou, whose nose Sugihara breaks. No hard feelings, though, because that gives him the excuse to get a nose job. Katou's father is a member of the Yakuza, and he respects Sugihara. Katou throws a big birthday party, and Sugihara meets Sakurai, a bit of mystery girl.
His closest friend in Jong-Il, from the Korean school.
It's a story of love, loss and finding your place in the world, and what nationality has to do with any or all of that. I enjoyed it.
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