Oxford Soju Club

I went into this book knowing almost nothing about it, but knowing enough about the author’s commitment to storytelling and their love of their Korean heritage to know this would be an engaging read. I was not disappointed. This book delivers questions and action immediately, shifting to slower chapters of complex character backgrounds that help inform and explain the choices you know about, leading to more questions and a hope that more answers are coming. It was hard to put this book down, and towards the latter half, I just strapped in for the ride and saw it all the way to the end. It’s shorter than I expected, wanting so many more stories about the characters, and parts of it felt somewhat rushed, but I found the pacing also made the often fast and uninformed choices the characters needed to make in the moment more real to me. The twists should have been expected, but a few caught me by surprise. Whether they had the impact and relevancy that was intended, I’m not sure, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. This is not your cozy spy thriller, even if it feels that way at points. It’s darker, grittier, and more real, if that’s the right word, blending questions about belonging, what makes us who we are, and how our past informs our future, or doesn’t, and explores the possible choices available in each scenario.