I feel almost guilty giving this melancholy book with some beautiful phrasing only two stars. The narrator, name unknown (I think) is an odd woman, apparently affected somehow from falling into an icy river in Berlin, and the book shuffles between realities - the present and the past.

This format - the nonlinear narrative - was somewhat confusing but I enjoy a literary challenge at times. The issue was that the three main characters (the narrator, the girlfriend, the boyfriend) are not likeable people. I can forgive the boyfriend for being rude because he was relatively "normal", but the girlfriend? She wasn't appealing to me. Too smart? Too sickly? Who talks like that? And the narrator! She came across as pretentious, precocious, and depressed.

There is some beautiful language in here, sometimes evoking a dreamscape, but ultimately it was very unsatisfying to feel judged by a narrator who thinks she is better than me.

FYI: This story of a Korean woman going to school in Germany was written in Korean originally. ( )

Bae Suah offers a complex psychological portrait in this highly intelligent, introspective novel. Though entertaining, it reads with a meditative pace, and is rich in detail and keen observation. It discusses the way language sets up barriers, but also tears them down. Music can act in much the same way. Suah equates music to a form of language. The author is also a translator from German, and the recounting of the main character's relationships and life in Europe was fascinating. Add to this the astute observations on literature and film, and you get a very readable, informative novel.

The author has a singular voice, casting a possibly autobiographical character in a unique role, chasing after her version of love. I thought that the uncertainty she encounters in a foreign culture, and among people with differing viewpoints was spot on. The elegant contrast of the narrator's relationship between M. and Joachim were appreciated.
Shades of Kafka and Kundera could be found here and there.
Boiling it all down, you should have a lot of fun with this novel if you read literary fiction. It's cutting edge, poignant and lovely, and I know I will be reading everything else she writes in English translation. ( )

In the wandering of memories time has no real meaning and this is a novel of memories. It's difficult to follow the sequence of events as the narrator, a young Korean novelist, house sits for her sometime boyfriend and recalls her relationship with the mysterious M--a woman who was her German tutor and lover. The writing is eloquent, especially when she thinks about music. I look forward to reading more by this author. My copy from a subscription to Open Letter Books; which will be publishing another Bae Suah book next fall. ( )