Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
SJ Kim’s This Part is Silent: A Life Between Cultures is an essay collection that reflects on the challenges and progress involved in academia, anti-racism, and being a writer and part of an immigrant family before and during the pandemic. The common theme that unites these topics is silence and how Kim finds these moments to be an opportunity to reflect and understand her perspective on the world both in the present and during her time as a doctoral student. Kim references notable Korean and American writers as well as significant people in her life–her parents, colleagues, and former students¬–to navigate the events she witnesses and her emotions. The collection’s structure feels disjointed and purposely conveys a feeling of disconnection between chapters; this reflects how people revisit their memories from the in a non-linear fashion to make sense of their lives and what is important to them. Kim's work encapsulates a very personal journey to find a sense of belonging.