I'll Be Right There

“Life demands sacrifice and difficult decisions from us at every moment. Living does not mean passing through a void of nothingness but rather through a web of relationships among beings, each with their own weight and volume and texture.”

The prologue of I'll Be Right There begins with our narrator, Jung Yoon, receiving a phone call from her ex-boyfriend, who she hasn't spoken to in 8 years. That moment causes her to recount her memories of childhood and her college years. It is a story of friendship and relationships, how we are drawn to each other, how we lose one another and the emotions we feel when we are unable to reconnect. The tone is melancholic, nostalgic and reflective, but despite the tragedies faced by every one of its characters, the novel still achieves a sense of hope. The idea is that life is never simple, not always easy, but still we survive. Similar to Shin's first book translated into English, [b:Please Look After Mom|8574333|Please Look After Mom|Kyung-sook Shin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320413213s/8574333.jpg|13443181], this novel asks us to question what is left unsaid. There is no detailed explanations, no climax or resolution. Instead this novel is an inspiring exploration of the emotions and inner conflicts of a group of friends, fighting their own personal tragedies. Despite its tragic undertones, I'll Be Right There was also a very quick and readable, one that I'd recommend to fans of coming of age, realistic fiction.