Last year I read Chee’s book, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, a collection of essays. I enjoyed some of them, and wasn’t crazy about some others.  I thought I’d give him another shot and read his first novel, Edinburgh, which received good reviews.

The book was pretty intense, tackling the heavy topic of pedophilia and sexual abuse and the destruction it leaves in its wake.  The book is a bit dreamy in some places, and it definitely can get a bit depressing reading about abuse, suicide, murder, strained relationships, etc. (although this book certainly wasn’t as depressing as Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life”). The storytelling is nuanced and compelling, and alternates between fairly straight narrative and more lyrical, poetic storytelling (for example, his incorporation of Korean mythology into the story.)  A powerful, emotional coming of age story.