Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo is in the Uncle Tom's Cabin genre of novels: obvious and didactic, but sympathetic because its subject matter is important. Cho's novel has caused an enormous sensation in its native South Korea, I imagine because it bluntly hammers at women's ongoing oppression. For that, I wish it well. The novel describes a wasteland of double-standards and ingrained sexism that ultimately causes its titular character a nervous breakdown. It hits that one note over and over, and even footnotes the cultural brutality in case readers didn't believe the descriptions were accurate. As a work of art, it's a rough read, but as a fictional manifesto, I hope it causes perspectives to change.
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