No More Tomorrows: The Compelling True Story of an Innocent Woman Sentenced to Twenty Years in a Hellhole Bali Prison
8.0
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It was meant to be a two-week holiday to celebrate her sister's birthday, but for Schapelle Corby it...
The Matchmaker
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Perfect Lives Don’t Come Cheap. Marcia Bailey has it all: a passionate marriage to a rich and...
The Last Rhino War
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This is a story of one man, Mike Delport, a professional hunter, and his journey as he is caught up...
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The Briar Club
8.0
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The New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye and The Rose Code returns with a haunting...
Historical Fiction
Loving Carter (True Mates #4)
9.0
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Carter Wilkes believed in true mates—until a lifetime of ridicule and abuse shattered that dream,...
MM Paranormal Romance
Mist In The Willows (Spirit Fleet Chronicles, #1)
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Discharged unexpectedly from the British military at the peak of her career, Jade Palmer must find a...
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ClareR (6230 KP) rated Perestroika in Books
Mar 10, 2024
We start off in Slavia in 1978 before any of the massive changes that will eventually take place, and we meet the inhabitants of the country: from the corrupt politicians to the men incarcerated in concentration camps. We see how people live on next to nothing and lies from the government that tell them all of their woes are because of the wicked Capitalist West.
The tables are turned on these corrupt Communists with the advent of Perestroika, and instead of Communists governing the country, an all-out crime boss finds himself in charge. But make no mistake: this was engineered by Ivan Fiorov (the crime boss) and his lackeys.
This is a story that is as relevant today as it always has been - especially with what is going on in the Ukraine at the moment. Some of the story arcs in this are horrific, and not just those that take place in the concentration camps. There’s child abuse, sexual coercion, drug abuse, neo-Nazis, violence. The people in this country experience a lot of change in a short period of time. But at the same time, everything stays the same.
Well worth a read.
Inji works for a secret branch of a well-known matchmaking agency. Men who would like a wife without the long term commitment, hire a Field Wife. She fulfils their every wish, be it domestic or sexual. Inji’s current husband is a repeat contract. He’s not very good at being a husband, and reinforces Inji’s opinions on marriage: unnecessary and unfulfilling. And then there’s the possibility of domestic violence and exploitation.
To be fair, this doesn’t paint a great picture of marriage in (this case) Korea. Inji doesn’t even refer to her husband by name. He’s just “husband”, which makes him almost incidental to the story.
There’s a lot going on in this novel: family dynamics, exploitation, modern slavery, death (by suicide?), prostitution.
And what is the trunk in the title? I personally think it’s Inji’s personal baggage: the emotions, feelings and responsibilities that she carries around with her all the time. This trunk goes with her between field husband, her family and her flat. She’s never without it.
Is it the thriller that it’s sold as? I don’t think so, but it is a very interesting glance into life in Korea, and I really enjoyed it.
Seeds of the Pomegranate
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A gritty story of a woman learning to survive in 20th century Gangland New York In early...
Historical Fiction Women's Fiction Immigrant Fiction Heritage Fiction Crime Fiction
imPerfect Magic (The imPerfect Cathar #1)
8.0
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After hundreds of years of dying, you'd think I would've perfected it by now... One moment I'm a...
Supernatural Dark Humor Mystery Suspense