Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

This was an interesting book for me, and in some ways that makes it difficult to review.

There were parts of this book which pulled me in, I was immersed in the story, connected to the people, felt as if I were standing right there with them.
And then there were other parts which, honestly felt a little disconnected, almost a fact dump/history lesson and I love reading about different cultures and time periods and finding out more.
It's just, in a few places in this book, I felt the way the history was written into it, wasnt natural enough to blend with the other parts of the story, which left it feeling a little off.
So, while I enjoyed the book as a whole, this negative pulled my rating down.

Sadly this was not my cup of tea at all. too much info dump, read in parts like non-fiction, never really got off the ground for me.

Love, Betrayal and Intrigue as Korea Splits Asunder

Yunho tracks down his childhood friend, Johnny, to a Seoul bar, where he is dancing with mysterious femme fatale, Eve Moon. It’s not long before Yunho, too, falls under Eve’s spell. Forced to flee the political unrest, the three make their way to the Japanese Korean quarter of Osaka. Who is Eve? North Korean refugee or American spy? Then a girl goes missing and Johnny falls under suspicion.

The ambitious scope of the novel plays out across thirty years of Korean history, and brings to life the constant fear of living during civil war and dictatorship. Here we see corruption and food shortages, the little man's/woman's pettiness and gossip with powerful outcomes, and how dissent risks the life of your entire family.

Kim’s clear, understated prose and atmospheric, sensuous writing places the reader in the moment. We smell the food cooking while popular songs of the day underscore the narrative. She also explores the nature of memory; its unreliability, sometimes coming unbidden and at others only fleetingly.

The Great Homecoming dives deep into a fascinating period of Korean history little-understood to those beyond its borders. Ultimately, this is its weakness: the history lessons obscure the human story. So often, the narrative breaks off for several pages to insert political history, then expects the reader to pick up the thread when we reconnect to the story.

Compelling but imbalanced.

My thanks to NetGalley and Granta for the ARC.