Specs
Reviews
(4/5)A quiet yet engaging near-future story about a boy growing up in a state-run facility
The story: To address Korea's low birth rate, the government has encouraged citizens to have babies and surrender them to state-run facilities. When they turn 13, these kids can be adopted by families. Jenu 301, a child being raised in one of these facilities, went an unusually long time without being adopted and faces the possibility that he will age out and go through life with no family.
Not much happens in this story, and yet somehow I found it quite compelling, enough so that I read it twi
“모른다는 것이 꼭 나쁜 일만은 아닌 것 같다. 모르기 때문에 배울 수 있고, 모르기 때문에 기대할 수 있으니까.“
A coming of age story of a futuristic world where “nation’s children” are fostered in a closed off government facility awaiting adoption. They go to school there, play games in the VR room with friends, and await their “페인트“ with possible new parents.
The main character is almost aged out, and only has a little time left as a Nation’s Child. His view is quite different from the others, and I liked to hear his perspective. It was also interesting to see how the adult figures around him reacted
Contemplative coming-of-age story
I came into this book expecting some light sci-fi, and got instead an introspective book about parenthood and the meaning of family.
The narrative was more difficult than expected grammar-wise. Our brooding and contemplative MC spends a lot of time 1) guessing how other characters are thinking/feeling, 2) speculating about hypothetical events, and 3) considering what the ideal parent/family/society looks like. As a result the book has a lot of complex sentences, and I often needed to re-read th