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‘I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki’ by Baek Sehee is less than 200 pages long. The chapters are short too. You will be able to read it in a single sitting. But you won’t be done with the book so soon. You will want to keep rereading passages and dipping in and out. I’m not someone who likes to underline and write in her books but my copy of ‘I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki’ is filled with scribbles and notes. I wanted to be reminded of some things over and over again.

Part memoir, part self-help, the book is a record of the therapy the author received for dysthymia, or persistent depressive disorder (a state of constant, light depression). Written by a young woman who is struggling through life, caught in a web of mood swings and ups and downs, the book is highly relatable and discusses fairly common issues like low self-esteem, jealousy, anger, etc. It also highlights how social media and society put pressure on us to conform—look a certain way, behave a certain way, etc—and how that can have a detrimental effect on our mental health.

Baek Sehee decided to open up her sessions to the world by writing a book because she wanted others who were going through the same problem as hers to know that they weren’t alone. Early on, in the introduction, she admits that the next book she writes might not be as honest but she will try to do everything she can to help those going through mental health issues.

Baek Sehee’s book quickly became a Korean bestseller. It was even recommended by a BTS member. Mental health problems are highly stigmatized in Korean society, despite highly stressful work and social environment being a leading cause of suicides among youths. This book sheds light on what it’s like living with mental health issues and how getting help can prevent problems from escalating. I Want to Die But ‘I Want to Eat Tteokbokki’ is an insightful and eye-opening take on the importance of acknowledging mental health conditions as any other health problem and how therapy can be a boon.

Memoir

I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki

Baek Sehee

Translated into English by Anton Hur

Published: 2018

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 194, Paperback

‘Counterfeit’ by Kirstin Chen could very well be made into a movie. It reads like one. Maybe it’s already being adapted for the screen as the book was Reese Witherspoon’s book club pick in June last year. It’s basically about complicated friendships and fake handbags and it’s really fun. Counterfeit will remind you of ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ both of which are highly enjoyable books and movies. 

The story is narrated in the first person by Ava. She meets an old friend, Winnie, who used to be her roommate during her freshman year of college. Winnie had disappeared under mysterious circumstances—pulled out of college after roughly six months. Now, she’s back and she runs a successful business. The catch is it’s not entirely legal. High-end luxury handbags are bought and then ‘superfakes’ (top-quality fakes) are returned in their place. The originals are then sold at slightly cheaper prices than their retail values. The scam is highly profitable but Winnie needs help with it. 

Ava is reluctant to help out at first but then she’s bored of being a stay-at-home mother. Despite having been a highly-paid lawyer, she enjoyed going on extended maternity leave because she secretly hates her job. Now, she wants some change in life. After an incident where she finds herself broke and alone in Hong Kong (her husband cuts her access to their joint bank account), she is forced to join Winnie. We find out about Winnie’s business as Ava tells the story to a detective. Winne has vanished and Ava claims to be the victim. We also hear Winnie’s side of the story in the second half of the book. Who is telling the truth? And what is really going on? These are the questions that compel you to keep turning the pages. 

Counterfeit is original and fresh. I hadn’t read anything like it before. It’s a fairly quick and easy read given the captivating plot. If you ask me, reading it is a great way to spend your Saturday afternoon.

Four stars

Counterfeit

Kirstin Chen

Published: 2022

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 274, Paperback

If you plan to read one book this summer, please let it be ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus. It’s such a delight. You will laugh. You will cry. You will jump with joy. You will vow to live life on your own terms and be you, unabashedly so. I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down. A couple of times, I even hugged it while going to bed. It just made me feel so good and positive about life.

Studded with a dazzling cast, ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ is set in the early 1960s when women scientists were unheard of. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist but she’s not your ‘average woman’. In fact, Elizabeth believes there is no such thing as an average woman.

But the place she works at—the Hastings Research Institute—doesn’t believe in equality. Her boss makes life extremely difficult for her. However, hope comes in the form of the brilliant Nobel-Prize-nominated scientist Calvin Evans who, like her, doesn’t think gender has anything to do with how smart you are. The two fall in love and their relationship isn’t your ‘average’ relationship. It’s a coming together of two great minds.

But life is unpredictable and Elizabeth ends up as a single mother and a reluctant star of a cooking show, Supper at Six. She doesn’t just tell you to put salt and vinegar. It’s sodium chloride and acetic acid, much to the chagrin of the producers who tell her she must be more ladylike. Her viewers think otherwise. They love the show and feel empowered by the way Elizabeth tells them to take charge of their lives while teaching them to cook delicious dishes. This infuriates men and even certain women who believe women have a dutiful place in society and shouldn’t challenge the norms.

‘Lessons in Chemistry’, which is about an exceptional woman struggling to make her place in a man’s world, is basically an exploration of gender discrimination. But it’s also about the essence of love and how your passion—towards work and life—can save you from the depths of despair.

Fiction

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57684325-lessons-in-chemistry 

Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus

Published: 2022

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Pages: 390, Paperback

A couple of years ago, I read ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ by Iain Reid despite having watched its movie adaptation and not liking it very much. A story about an unnamed woman dating a dullish man called Jake for about six weeks when the two decide to go visit Jake’s parents, it was dark and creepy. I had bought the book because I had fallen in love with the cover but I actually ended up enjoying it quite a bit. 

So, I was excited to stumble upon another book by the author. ‘We Spread’ is a recent release—it came out last year. I’m Thinking of Ending Things was dialogue driven, ‘We Spread’  a lot less so. But despite the different writing styles, Reid knows how to captivate his readers. 

‘We Spread’  is a story of a widow who finds herself at a strange care home where time seems to pass quickly. At the beginning of the story, Penny lives alone in an apartment that she shared with her husband for many years. But she falls and injures herself when trying to change a lightbulb and finds herself being taken to a private care facility, Six Cedars, when she regains consciousness. Apparently, her husband had made the arrangements for her years ago. Her memory is failing her, so she can’t remember agreeing to it. 

Initially, she’s skeptical and wants to move back into her apartment. She thinks she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. But she slowly starts to adjust to life at the facility—she has people her own age to talk to and isn’t lonely anymore. The facility’s manager, Shelly, claims she has a background in science that makes it possible for her to provide top-notch care for older people. She seems to really care about Six Cedar’s six residents. But something feels off to Penny and she starts wondering if Shelly’s motives are actually driven by something sinister. 

‘We Spread’  is a quick read. The chapters are short, some just a page long. But its message about identity and aging makes you want to slow down and take your time. I have to admit it’s not an easy book. There were times when I had to pause and ponder over what I had just read or go back a couple of pages to make sense of things. The book is dedicated to Reid’s grandmother, who died in a care facility when she was 101, after having lived there for two years. Despite its horror backdrop, ‘We Spread’  is an important story that looks at how society marginalizes older people, and how aging is viewed with disdain and distrust.

Three-and-a-half stars

Fiction

We Spread

Iain Reid

Published: 2022

Publisher: Scribner

Pages: 287, Paperback