My Brilliant Life

by Ae-ran Kim

Other authorsChi-Young Kim (Translator)

Hardcover, 2021

Genres

Collection

Korean Translations - YA Books

Description

"My Brilliant Life interweaves the past and present of a tight-knit family, finding joy and happiness in even the most difficult times. Areum lives life to its fullest, vicariously through the stories of his parents, conversations with Little Grandpa Jang-his sixty-year-old neighbor and best friend-and through the books he reads to visit the places he would otherwise never see. For several months, Areum has been working on a manuscript, piecing together his parents' often embellished stories about his family and childhood. He hopes to present it on his birthday, as a final gift to his mom and dad; their own falling-in-love story. Through it all, Areum and his family will have you laughing and crying, for all the right reasons"--

Publication

Forge Books (2021), Edition: 1, 208 pages

User reviews

LibraryThing member Carolee888

When I read this book, I thought about the characters and then about the author. Some things written are brilliantly funny. I want so much to quote from the book, but I cannot because it is not a finished we see things differently. Ae-ran Kim turns things on their side and the results are that we

see things differently. That is why I was so often stopping and starting reading.

The story is of a 16-year-old boy whose parents were only 16 when he was born, they had no job, left school, and they struggled to take care of him. But even worse, he had a very rare disease which caused him to age very quickly, By the time that he was 16, and they were 32, he had the body of an 80-year old. His greatest hope was to live to 17 and give his parents a book that he had written about them. He wanted to save his parents from working themselves to death in their very menial jobs. He decides to agree to having a documentary about him to solicit funds for his care.

This short book captures your attention quickly and will not let you go. I was up to the wee hours of the morning, reading and pausing and thinking. I tried to go to sleep but kept thinking about the boy until the story ended. It is written with humor, sadness and joy. It leaves you with the huge depth of how much people need people.

I received this Advanced Copy of this book from Forge Publishers as a win in the FirstReads contest. My thoughts and feelings in this review are entirely my own.

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LibraryThing member bogreader

Areum's debilitating disease has limited the scope and length of his life, so he plums the depth's of his parents' lives, develops a deep friendship with his grandfatherly neighbor, and reads everything available to him. Limitations in one dimension lead to expansion in another.

LibraryThing member PatsyMurray

I cannot tell how original this book is because I haven't read many books where the youthful protagonist dies, but that does sound rather trite and obvious. Still, this book takes the theme of a young person facing their death and handles it in a deft manner. It is sweet and touching and the

writing elevates this book from mediocrity.

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LibraryThing member booklove2

A quick sad tale about a quick sad life. Not bad, yet nothing elevated to bring it above the pack. I do appreciate that Areum appreciates the little things! You gotta do it to keep going. At least this isn't a very weird translated book? Anything translated I read is usually very weird.

LibraryThing member quondame

Teenage Areum living in a geriatric body, has just reached the age of his parents when he was born. He tells of his parents' lives, how he came to be, his friendship with the old man who lives with his older father and is treated as a child. And of his efforts to write these stories, of his

appearance on television to raise funds for his final hospitalization as he is going blind.
This has got to be one of the triumphs of translation for the language is fluid and straightforward and caressing, of this youth trapped in age tale which has so much to say of those who spent so much longer acquiring their aches and pains, but who feel more than just echos of a teenage self.
Only in the last page did I feel the least bit manipulated by the author, but that smarted.

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LibraryThing member Kristelh

This is a story of a boy who was born to his young parents who were still in high school when she became pregnant. It starts with lines that tell you he is older than his parents. Areum has Progeria. This book is written by Korean author Ae-ran Kim. The author is female and she is South Korean. It

was okay. It read like nonfiction but it is a novel.

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LibraryThing member kslade

Pretty good thoughts from a young boy with a condition that makes him old fast. From his point of view.

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