Overall rating and opinion of "The Vanished" by Pejay Bradley

Use this forum to discuss the January 2021 Book of the month, "The Vanished" by Pejay Bradley
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Dimi1
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Re: Overall rating and opinion of "The Vanished" by Pejay Bradley

Post by Dimi1 »

A well written book with an easy flow that seems to depict Korean society's background, although I am not sure whether the info on it is accurate due to limited-to-zero knowledge on the particular culture. Either way it is a good story given in different angles.
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Post by Josephe-Anne »

I enjoyed this book because I learned so much about Korean culture while reading it. However, the ending was so abrupt and incomplete, and that is what I disliked the most. I would still recommend it to fans of historical fiction because it is an entertaining story set during the early 1900s.
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Post by Brownbrit »

I gave the book a 3 our of 4 stars because you cannot give half points, but it really is not a 3. While it kept me entertained and was educational, the characters are flat and the end is abrupt. This is not a book that you can loose yourself in.
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Fozia RYK wrote: 05 Jan 2021, 23:26 According to my personal opinion I like this book very much because it is about international relations Korean society and the historical events and history is my favourite subject. I will also recommend this book to other readers because this book is able to forward and suggest for reading again and again.
Very true... I also may recommend it, it's a nice read.
prakritisingh wrote: 29 Jan 2021, 04:00 I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. The story is amazing. The book dives deeply into the life of Koreans under Japanese rule. Though, the beginning of the story was quite boring but I soon realized that the author did it to make us understand the characters well. The overall storyline was amazing. How the story covers different parts of the world and their cultures is applaudable. The book make the reader more aware about history. The author's choice of characters did justice to the plot and it was interesting to see different personalities/views about a same situation. I found the book very resourceful and interesting.
Viczboy16 wrote: 28 Jan 2021, 08:41 The author did a great job with this book as he has proven to have undergone proper research before writing this magnificent historical fiction. It widened my knowledge about the history of Korea and talks about the struggle to be an independent nation. I was pleased about the level of details given in the book, such as names of food, plants etc. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars because I was a bit confused as the story was cut short numerous times while narating. I would recommend to history lovers.
I agree with the first paragraph in your opinion. A well researched piece is seen right from page one... Good research is tedious and time consuming but worth it, and that's what makes this book unique.
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Post by kperm »

At first, I had mixed feelings about the book. I wasn't sure if I would like it as I am not very familiar with Korean society. I didn't think that I would be able to relate to the book. However, I usually love reading historical fiction, and I noticed that many people seemed to like the book. I am very glad that I decided to read it. I enjoyed every aspect of it, and I strongly recommend it to everyone, especially those who like historical fiction. I liked the fact that the book touched on various important topics, such as gender inequality.
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Post by kperm »

Phelicia Gloria wrote: 03 Jan 2021, 23:09 This was a great book, and I beloved it deserves full rating, the author did a great work in character development, as I could easily relate to each and every character, from the beginning of the book to the end.
I fully agree with you. The author indeed did a great work in character development. Although I would love to see more independent female characters, it perfectly demonstrates the dictatorship and gender inequality that the author was trying to portray.
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Booksmart-56 wrote: 06 Jan 2021, 10:00 I would give the book a rating of 3 out of 4. I find historical fiction novels interesting. I have not read about the history of China, Japan, and the people of Korea; thus, I am not sure how much of the history depicted is real or fiction. Regardless, the novel was a great read: revealing the struggles of people trying to gain independence from an oppressive regime. The downside of the book is that at some point, the narration cut off the story's flow. The book, at times, shifted from one timeline then back into the past, which brought confusion. Nonetheless, this is a great read. I recommend this book to those who love historical fiction novels.
I understand your feelings. I am not very familiar with Asian culture and have not read a lot of books about these countries. Therefore, I wasn't sure how accurate the book was. However, I still enjoyed reading the book.
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Post by kperm »

lavkathleen wrote: 11 Jan 2021, 22:29 I gave it a 4 out of 4 rating. It was more educating to me than entertaining, but I loved that I could relate to it a lot and it shared the same mindset as me. Also, it showed me what activism really is like, and how painful the truth is about our world. 20 years later, the world hasn't changed much.
I agree that the book was very educational. I am glad to hear that you were able to relate to the book. At first, I thought that it wouldn't be very relatable to me as I am not familiar with Asian culture. However, I was able to relate to the storyline and the characters.
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Latest Review: The Vanished by Pejay Bradley

Post by Intuitive Catalyst »

gali wrote: 01 Jan 2021, 00:01 This is a discussion topic for the January 2021 Book of the month, The Vanished by Pejay Bradley

What is your overall opinion of the book? What do you like most about it? What do you like least? Will you recommend the book to other people? Why or why not?

Please remember to add your actual rating using the book's page on: Bookshelves.
I loved the book which surprised me since I stopped reading historical fiction many years ago. The smooth, lyrical style in which it is written is very attractive and in no way do descriptions of violence detract from the style. Not many authors are capable of this feat. I found nothing to dislike and would definitely recommend this book to others because there is so much to learn about the South Korean culture unknown to us in the western world. However, since it is fiction, readers will have to do their own research.
kperm wrote: 04 Feb 2021, 12:25 At first, I had mixed feelings about the book. I wasn't sure if I would like it as I am not very familiar with Korean society. I didn't think that I would be able to relate to the book. However, I usually love reading historical fiction, and I noticed that many people seemed to like the book. I am very glad that I decided to read it. I enjoyed every aspect of it, and I strongly recommend it to everyone, especially those who like historical fiction. I liked the fact that the book touched on various important topics, such as gender inequality.
Brownbrit wrote: 01 Feb 2021, 14:37 I gave the book a 3 our of 4 stars because you cannot give half points, but it really is not a 3. While it kept me entertained and was educational, the characters are flat and the end is abrupt. This is not a book that you can loose yourself in.
Oh no! I do not agree with that at all. The characters were not flat at all and they were well-depicted. I lost myself in the story probably because of the author's style of writing and I am not a fan of historical fiction but this one was really well-written I loved the book which surprised me since I stopped reading historical fiction many years ago. The lyrical style in which it is written is very attractive and in no way do descriptions of the violence detract from the style. Not many authors are capable of this feat. I found nothing to dislike and would definitely recommend this book to others.
Last edited by gali on 05 Feb 2021, 00:59, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by zulfiyya »

I thought the novel was well written and super enjoyable. I appreciated that there were so many different characters of different social statuses and poverty levels because it gave me a better understanding of how the Japanese occupation affected all Koreans and not just a specific demographic. The way the lives of the characters unfolded and were connected to one another was done very neatly. Usually, when a story has many main characters to follow, it can get messy and hard to follow, but I read The Vanished with ease.
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Post by Liveforchrist51 »

I really enjoyed this book. I love learning new things and this book was so full of cultural knowledge about Korean lifestyles. I was a little confused because the story jumped from one character’s perspective to the next . It was kind of hard to keep up because it changed up so unexpectedly.
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Post by Praise George-kayode »

With everything that i like about this book, there are still some things i do not like. One of the things is the fact that the parts do not have equal chapters; part 1 and 2 has four chapters each, while part 3 has five chapters and part 4 contains 10 chapters. The major dislike i have for this book is that the story ended without being complete. The author ended it without showing us what happened to the lives of the other characters in the story. Characters like Lady Sougyon, Hain’s fiancée, Insoo, and even Embon’s wife. Due to all the above, i will be rating the book a 3 out of 4 stars.
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Post by MayorE »

Although the ending was quit abrupt, I would still recommend it to lovers of historical fiction. There is a lot to learn about the Korean history from the book
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Post by aimeepieterse »

I really enjoyed The Vanished. It did justice to giving a glimpse into the world, fight and feelings of the Korean people during the Japanese occupation. I love that real facts were woven in, it just made it feel more like you were getting an eyewitness account of the events that took place. The personal experience of Embon and his friends lends itself to making these accounts all the more real. I feel that the way the author switched narration styles allowed us to see into the hearts and minds of the different characters, giving us an even broader understanding and adding to the meatiness of the novel. I've recommended this book to a few friends and would say if you're a history fan, it's definitely worth a read.
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Post by Wekesa Namuyonga »

The author did a great job of showing the condition of the traditional Korean society. I loved the book generally, I honestly think a 4 out of 4 rating is perfect.
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