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While I found the stories of the characters entertaining, I did not connect with any characters. I believe that it is because they story lacked character development, and thus, they all fell flat. That, or maybe, it was the use of passive language that did not actively engage me. Does anyone feel the same? Why or why not?

Yes, but I think that perhaps because the characters were so different to us. It is another time, another culture (for many of us) and another social class (for many of us) so I think it would be hard for most of us to identify with these characters

I think the reason why the characters lacked character development was that the characters were meant to produce a variable perspective of life in this time period for the reader. The story was not really about the characters themselves, but more so just a tool to portray the thoughts, emotions and actions of people of that time. Also, in the real world, there isn't much time to develop when poverty has stricken your country and an enemy has occupied your territory

I think character development has nothing to do with their connection with each other but how they are individually built.

I can see why someone could view the characters as flat or lacking character development, but the reason why I connected to the story despite this and believe the characters really made the story, is because the story is more about painting a picture of the society rather than focus on individual character stories. The characters were tools in explaining how society functioned and the mindset of the people at this time. That's why there were so many characters which might have been hard for some people to keep track of. Some characters represented the highest classes, some the middle, and others represented poverty. If the author had focused more on character development, the story would be too long and society of that time probably wouldn't have been depicted as well because the author would need to cut down on how many characters were there.

I think with a lot of the characters the author does not necessarily want us to connect with them and had written them this way purposefully. However, I also agree that it can sometimes make them fall flat if the author is not careful.

I second your opinion. To me, the evident trait for most of the characters was their bravery and variance only. I would have appreciated it more if intelligence was depicted. After all, you will achieve too little with bravery minus subtlety.

I was also disappointed with the character development. I had high hopes for Embon's, but suddenly the story ended. But then maybe it was just how I like the books I read. I look for connections that I did not find here.

Brownbrit wrote: ↑01 Feb 2021, 14:53 While I found the stories of the characters entertaining, I did not connect with any characters. I believe that it is because they story lacked character development, and thus, they all fell flat. That, or maybe, it was the use of passive language that did not actively engage me. Does anyone feel the same? Why or why not?

Yes, I completely agree! In fact this is what I have mentioned in my review as well. I felt the characters were not given the depth they could have enjoyed in such a rich context. Except Embon's mother I couldn't feel any empathy or connection to any other character. It felt too narrative and theoretical.

I also did not connect with many of the characters but I don't think it was because of a lack of character development. I think it is sometimes hard to connect to a character if we cannot see ourselves in that situation. If you live in a westernized country today it might be hard to see yourself in a situation where your country is being occupied or where women have pretty much no voice. I may not understand what the characters are going through but I still feel empathy towards them.

I'm of the opinion that connection with characters play a role with identification of similar circumstances. From the narrative to setting, readers from a different culture, background and setting may not easily relate, in relation to the western world and at large

In my opinion, the character developments are alright. For example, we can see the transformation of Embon during his time in Japan and after coming back. Lady Sougyon is also a great help to us, as her words described how the nobles thought about the relationship between Korea and Japan. The actions and decisions of the minor characters like Mr. Seoh, Mr. Koo, Yangwoo, or Hain also present the mindset of the yangban and the youth. There are no traditional main characters in this book, because the cast is the representation of the whole nation. Perhaps that's why some readers feel disconnect with them.

I think I can agree with what you said. I did feel a lack of character development. It was a bit disappointing because I wanted to see more fleshed out characters. Although I can't say that this is true for all of them.

Some characters were developed and I connected with them, but I think the author purposely wrote the other characters that way so that's why we can't connect with them. Still, they were rather distinct.

I did not feel connected to the characters. There was not much detail about each one personally. The author moved swiftly back and forth through the events without enough time to build a stand point on each of the main characters in order to feel completely involved in the story.