Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim!

This was the first book I've read by this author. I was intrigued by the premise, but found that the story moved much too slowly, possibly due to the multiple timelines. This is basically a family drama with a side of mystery, which is what initially drew me to the book. The first three-quarters of the book moves incredibly slowly and I kept putting it down. I'm sure this would be a good fit for someone who doesn't mind a slow read.

I loved Kim’s last book so I was very excited to read this one; however while the story was intriguing, the novel as a whole just fell flat for me. The book focuses on the Kim family, parents Sunny and John, Korean immigrants, and their American-born children, Anastasia and Ronald. It is told in a dual time line – the first is 1999 when the family is essentially broken, Sunny has gone missing and the family is lost without her, and then, John finds a dead body in their backyard (and the stranger had a envelope with his missing wife’s name on it). Anna and Ronald work with the man’s daughter to discover how the stranger is connected to Sunny and what mysterious circumstances lead to his death. The second timeline begins in 1977 and is basically Sunny’s story and eventually this narration runs parallel to the other. This novel is essentially a family drama with a side of mystery.

The novel should have been riveting; there is the mystery, the underlying family issues that emerge slowly throughout the novel as well as the backstory of the stranger found in the yard, but for some reason the book moved very slowly and I kept putting it down. I think in the end, the characters were just not compelling enough for me to carry the storyline. I did really enjoy the last 25% of the book; I just wish I had enjoyed the first part of the book as much.

3.75 stars rounded to four (I really liked the last quarter of the book that much)

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria for the ARC to review

Sorry to say, this novel just didn’t do it for me. Kim’s writing needs editing at the very least, on many levels, starting from the stand point if what to include and what to leave out. The author seems to have a need to include everything that may have had an impact on Sunny and John, emotionally, culturally, and politically, As well as on her children. It is all too much, and told rather than shown.

The language is also jarring , sometimes showing racism strangely- as The altitude/artitude example (why??) and as the author interjects an abundance of swearing in the scene with Jacob and Ronald - so strange, as a way to show contemporary culture - even though the characters were two decades apart in age? Very confusing. Where is the authorial voice here? It’s all over the place.

I felt for the characters, as we were supposed to, but none of it rang true as characterizations. I couldn’t grasp who Ana was or Priscilla or Janet or the myriad of other characters we are introduced to and then are dropped. Sunny, RJ, and John are clear. but there is too much in the plot and exposition to engage us with their plight. The book drags as a result. It’s an interesting premise, but the execution is too flawed to carry along this reader.

Overall an interesting thriller tho the father character felt very unredeemable (as someone with a complicated Korean immig father myself). I always love how the author writes about LA koreatown bc it’s so specific and real. I also love how she writes about mothers having full lives. But the miscommunication or lack of communication trope was really irritating. I don’t read a lot of thrillers but did overall enjoy!

Kim has crafted a mystery-tinged family drama here, but I couldn't help but compare it to <i>Happiness Falls</i>, another book with a very similar premise I read recently and has become a favorite book of the year. I felt like that prevented me from enjoying this one as much as I should have, because that book was so strong for me and this ended up just feeling like a less tense and less emotional version of a similar story. it's a well written and solid story but i felt like it moved through characters too quickly, and some of their actions made me scratch my head when compared to their established personalities.

DNF @24%

I usually like stories involving generational trauma, but I didn't like this one. The premise was interesting, but I didn't like the characters or the way that the story was told.

What We Kept To Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
Publishing Date - 10/10/23
Rating (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for this eARC. What We Kept To Ourselves is about the Kim Family , living in LA , spanning from the 70s to the 90s. The matriarch , Sunny, disappears and a mysterious death occurs on the family’s property. This story is a story of love , loss , and secrets. What We Kept to Ourselves kept me engaged from the very beginning to the end! Highly recommend this one.

On paper, this book is everything that I love and want in a story, but it fell flat in execution. I had to DNF at 55% because I was just bored and couldn't get myself to care where the story was going. I disliked all the characters in the present timeline and only really loved the missing mother's flashbacks. But there wasn't enough momentum to keep me reading the present day storyline chapters. The writing was good but not remarkable.

Is a book that takes place in the 1980s and 1990s considered historical fiction now?

This was such a multilayered book. I felt like it fell a little flat with the "investigation" that Ronald did but I loved everything else. What do we really know about anyone, even our own family?

I also really liked the great descriptions of food, it added a lot of texture and realism.

I loved the mystery, the timeline jumps, and the inclusion of Korean culture. This book kept me engaged and was well-written.

What a fantastic story!
In 1999 The Kim family is struggling. Sunny (Sunhe) the matriarch disappeared more than a year ago leaving the 60 year old father, John to go it alone. Their adult children return to the house when a body is found in the back yard. John does not reveal that there was a letter in the hand of the deceased man for his wife, but the police quickly identify him and his estranged daughter comes to the home.

Thus starts a strange and winding story as the newly formed group attempts to track the man's last steps and reason for being in the Kim's yard. Nancy Jooyoun Kim intersperses the chapters with flashbacks to more than 20 years ago when Sunny and John first arrive in America full of hope.

It's a very surprising ending but also satisfying, plenty of Korean food and customs mentioned and an all around thrilling family saga!
#ATria #Whatwekepttoourselves #Nancyjooyounkim

This is one of those books I wanted to like more than I actually ended up liking it. I liked the writing, I liked the mystery, the characters were interesting, but all together it just dragged and dragged for me. I kept wondering where we were going, but not in the seat of your pants way, but rather in the "are we there yet?" car ride. The angst of the different characters was painful. I just wanted to jump in and somehow make their lives better.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I hope the author can be more concise in her next work and I look forward to that.

It is very slow and you need to have a lot of patience for it but I was fascinated by learning more about Korean immigrant culture and the foods. It was a somewhat functional dysfunctional family that is thrown into turmoil when the mother disappears. Add, a mysterious death occurs on the family property that brings to light secrets before untold.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While, I think there were aspects that lacked and missing elements that could have benefited the story or at least provided more depth on the reflection of power, justice, and accountability - it is a fairly decent novel. I also thought the book did a good job on looking at relationships, family dynamics, secrets/truths, survival, identity, and freedom.

This was slow for me. I contemplated not finishing it. It is not bad but I felt it dragged at first. Overall I enjoyed it but wasn’t blown away.

****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

This was very nearly a 5 star read for me. I have always loved family sagas and I am interested in other cultures so this wound up being the perfect amalgam of literary fiction, excellent prose, and clever storytelling.

I read Kim's earlier book, searching for Sylvia Lee and loved it. It reads like a thriller and keeps you turning the pages but the character growth and development doesn't suffer and the prose remains top of the line. I loved this story and really felt like I was enveloped by the culture while still remaining entire accessible. This was a 4.5 star book!Highly recommend to people looking for the readability of a thriller with the prose of a literary fiction book,

2.5 stars

Respectfully, this book was painfully slow and took me a while to get into. I was fascinated by learning more about Korean immigrant culture and the foods, but aside from that nothing particularly stood out to me from this story. The dual timeline was rather confusing at times and I didn't really like any of the characters. Truthfully, this book gave me somewhat the same vibe as "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" gave me (I didn't enjoy it). There was so much miscommunication between all the characters and nonsense that could've been kept out, in my opinion. There was so much to unpack in this book that it all got so overwhelming.

This book was definitely not for me but that doesn't mean others won't like it; this is just how I resonated with it, but I think readers should give it a chance. Thank you so much Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for this ARC.

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So compelling and engrossing! Kim's first novel was a favorite and this one is even better. Heartbreaking, inspiring, complex, compassionate, a multigenerational story, mystery, and awakening. So richly imagined, steeped in Korean immigrant culture and cuisine, such complex characters. Highly recommend!

Disclaimer, I once attended a writing workshop with this author. We would recognize one another in a random encounter but we are not in close communication.

I received and ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF - I was looking forward to seeing what this story was going to be about but, ultimately I do not think I am the target or ideal reader for this story. I'm sure readers who loved the author's previous work will find themselves in good company with this story.