Flashlight by Susan Choi

Last year I was tempted into buying two new books all because I wanted a little penguin figurine. One of the two books I chose was Flashlight by Susan Choi which was nominated for the Booker Prize. Fast forward a couple of months and I decided to read the book as part of a buddy read, but my buddy ended up finishing a good couple of weeks before I did. And that's where it started to go a little wrong. This book was a bit of a struggle for me and I almost gave up completely. In the end, it was announced as the starting point for February's Six Degrees of Separation and that was what got me over the line to actually finish it

When 10 year old Louisa is found washed up on a beach in rural Japan, it is assumed that her college professor father, Serk, has drowned. Traumatised, Louisa and her mother return to America and try to start over and forget about their life in Japan.

Serk was a man who was born and grew up in Japan but he had Korean parents. Whilst his parents were tempted to return to what we now know as North Korea by promises of a good life, Serk heads to America, finding work in a small town college. He meets Anne and together they begin a life together. Soon, they have their daughter, Louisa, and together they try to build their lives. He is offered the opportunity to return to teach in Japan and the small family travel together for what is supposed to be just one year.

For Louisa, moving to Japan gives her the chance to go to school in a country where she is still obviously mixed race but she doesn't stand out quite so much. She quickly begins to learn the language and the culture. Anne finds living in a foreign country is very difficult, not least because her body is failing her.

As the years pass in America, the relationship between Louisa and Anne disintegrates. They don't know how to communicate with each other at all, and never really have done. Louisa constantly feels frustrated with Anne and does everything she can to get as far away, both physically and mentally, from her mother

It is only in the second part of the book that it becomes clear what actually happened on that night long ago.

The story itself should be fascinating, especially seeing as it based on true stories of people who just disappeared from the coastal areas of Japan and ended up in North Korean re-education programmes. As Serk undergoes the reeducation program which could end up killing him, he wonders what happened to the little girl that he did everything that he could to protect, and yet he still ended up losing her.

Notice I used the word should in that last paragraph. The thing is, I didn't find any of the characters particularly relatable. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Serk, Anna and Louisa were all quite unlikable. They are often really horrible to each other. I am sure that we were supposed to feel sorry for Anne as it became clear that her illness was not just in her head, and for Louisa after the trauma that she had experienced but I just couldn't.

It didn't help that there were big jumps in time without any explanation. The story was told through alternating chapters from each characters point of view, plus at least one other voice. All of a sudden the character's story would jump forward with little to no warning. For example, there was a whole section set in Europe where Louisa met a man we really only knew a bit of a drifter and that he smelt. Suddenly in another chapter, she has two kids and is married to someone else. 

The second half of the book was better than the first so I am glad I persisted, but it is fair to say this won't make my list of favourites for the year. What I can say is that I learned something I didn't know about before. I did know about the treatment of Korean nationals in Japan particularly in before and during WWII after reading White Mulberry last year, but I hadn't ever heard about the abductions. And I do think that I will remember the book, so it will have left it's mark on me, whether I like it or not.

So was it worth it for the penguin? Absolutely. Would I do it again for another penguin? Probably!

I am sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge which I host here. It also counts for my personal January in Japan event.

Rating 3/5