Kim Jae Min Reading Journal Blog

 The Five-Forty-Eight, By John Cheever (1954) 8/10 Until the last moment, I was positive this story would end with Miss Dent blowing a hole in Blake’s head. Yet she didn’t. All she wanted was to get over and forget him, and go on with her life. I found this very generous, since the things Blake did may not be crimes punishable by death, but still very evil. I think the best way to see this story is comparing Blake with Miss Dent. Blake has a house, family, job, and power, while Miss dent is probably broke, lonely, and unemployed. Frankly, he is much better off . However, if we focus on the actions of each character, this changes. Blake is a terrible person. He preys on weak people, cheats on his wife, treats his family like trash, fire people just without reason, and quarrels with neighbors. Miss Dent may be mentally unstable and low self-esteemed, but unlike Blake, she decided to not hurt the opponent at the last moment. Blake may have better social status, but Miss Dent is the ...

 The Enormous Radio, By John Cheever (1947) 7/10 I sometimes have a strange paranoid horror about what would happen if someone near me could read my mind. So just in case, I intentionally think “I know you are reading my mind, get out.” so the possible mind reader would be terrified and run away or whatever. I know this is stupid, but I guess that’s how much people prize their privacy. I actually think this privacy is what keeps the human society together. If everyone knew what kind of person everyone else exactly were, we would be so disgusted of this world. The ability to know exactly what kind of people others are may be considered a gift to some, but for most people, it would just make every single social exchange painful. Considering how this story was written in the 1940s, the idea of a magical radio could have been interesting when it was published. I suppose people who read this story before magical machines became a cliché would have found this story more interesting. ...

 The Semplica Girl Diaries, By George Saunders (2012) 8/10 Eva is the kindest person in the story, but her good actions made her family face damnation. The worst part is, none of this is her fault. I blame this twisted world, where the selfless actions of a child took their family's home away. It does not make sense how the Torrinis have dozens of SGs hanging in their yard and karma doesn’t get them, while Eva’s family is losing their house for freeing literal human furnitures. This is just like how things don’t make sense in the real world. Yet I don't think we can really say that anyone is a villain in this story. The narrator is just a guy trying to make his life work out, and everyone else is pretty much the same. This is another point where this story is so realistic. Few people in this the world are actually evil, and most of are just trying to live on. Still, things somehow always get messed up, and good people get hurt. This story used a very strange concept to depi...

Victory Lap, by George Sanders (2007) 9/10 The way the narrator skipped between the brains of the characters was hard to read in my first try, but when I re-read this story, I actually found this way of storytelling incredibly enjoyable. Comparing the minds of these three very different characters gave this story much more elements of interest. Alison’s young, joyful mind was a bit distractive, but it was nevertheless characteristic. Kyle’s strange, stressful thoughts started boring, but the moment he broke was truly impressing. The Russian’s almost primitive logic kind of scared me, considering how some people might actually think like this. I was also very satisfied with the fact that Alison stopped Kyle from actually killing the Russian. I see it as a mutual salvation, as Kyle saved Alison from getting raped and probably dying, and Alison saved Kyle from crossing the dreadful line of murder which would have probably scarred him for life. Yet, it was still sad to see Alison waking ...

 Puppy, By George Sanders (2007) 7/10 I was surprised after hearing many people sympathized with Kellie. This woman a tied her mentally disabled son with a leash in the lawn. Whatever the consequences, whatever the reason, I find this very hard to be accepted. It’s downright child abuse. Some may argue, the leash is not so much different with putting a baby in a cradle. It’s true that both a cradle and Bo’s leash is being used as a form of protection so that the child doesn’t get himself/herself killed. However, a baby in a cradle is in a completely different condition compared to Bo. In a normal situation, a cradle would be safely indoors, and the parents would likely be near it. Bo is left to play outdoors in an obviously filthy yard, and judging by his condition described in the story, he could easily get himself killed in ways not including running into the road. Overall, some characters in the story were extremely unlikable, but the way the author skipped between the minds...

 Sticks, By George Sanders (1995) 9/10 Being a father is a new for everyone, and people rarely get things right in their first try. That’s probably why the father in the story was so mean and stingy in front of his children. He regretted many things after getting old, and it seems like his wife was a very big part of his life. In my opinion, I think this father is not a bad man, but rather a poor man. I was shocked twice in this story. First was how the father’s precious poles were just treated like garbage and thrown away by the couple who moved in. A man’s treasure, possibly even the last thing he had for himself in life, meant nothing to others. This made me think about death, and how most things the dead left behind are ignored or forgotten so quickly by the living. The second cause of shock was that this amazing story was not even a whole page wrong. I guess leaving the most essential feelings is another way of reaching good literacy. This was one of the most interesting...