#jinwoo chong

[who-do-i-know-this-man-s4]

⚠️Vote for whomever YOU DO NOT KNOW⚠️‼️

[smokefalls]

There was something to be said about the way that damaged people sought more pain, if only because it was familiar. Comforting, in a way? Maybe.

Jinwoo Chong, Flux

[monstrousproductions]

To start off the ask game- 42?

Oh I wish I'd read Hitchiker's Guide this year so I could talk about that!

Even number = a book I enjoyed! From this ask game.

One of my absolute favourite books this year was Flux by Jinwoo Chong. It has three storylines - one of a little boy whose mother dies just before Christmas, one of a young man who has just started a new job at a strange company, and one of an older man being called as a witness in a trial against a corrupt tech start-up. These stories are intertwined with that of an 80s cop show and the grizzled detective protagonist.

It's deliciously twisty and weird, using its SF elements to explore the cyclical nature of grief and the tension of a mixed race identity in modern America. It's literary SF at its best, and the audiobook - read by David Lee Huynh - is fantastic. I listened to it January, and have been thinking about it all year.

[indogaysian]

“You're the most fun I have all day. I think that makes you my best friend. Sad for both of us, isn't it?”

— Jinwoo Chong, Flux

[lifesarchive]

reading next:

THE TROOP by NICK CUTTER FLUX by JINWOO CHONG HUNGRY GHOSTS by KEVIN JARED HOSEN DEVIL HOUSE by JOHN DARNIELLE THE VIOLIN CONSPIRACY by BRENDAN SLOCUMB THE SHARDS by BRET EASTON ELLIS

[bloodmaarked]

➫ monthly book round-up: february 2024

books read: 6 [1 DNF] [-14%] average rating: 3.6 [-4%] average speed: 7.8 days [-20%] total pages: 2,083 [-27%] yearly goal progress: 11/50 best of the month: the space between here & now, sarah suk worst of the month: knife skills for beginners, orlando murrin

4* reads:

the space between here & now, sarah suk

a song of wraiths and ruin, roseanne a. brown

3.5* reads:

flux, jinwoo chong

when we were birds, ayanna lloyd banwo

3* reads:

gleanings, neal shusterman

DNFs

knife skills for beginners, orlando murrin

currently reading:

saving time, jenny odell

the murder at the vicarage, agatha christie

[ethereallad]

EVENT: Gaithersburg Book Festival

I will be attending the Gaithersburg Book Festival this Saturday, May 20, where I will be in conversation with two authors — Owen King and Jinwoo Chong. The folks at the Washington Independent Review of Books asked me to conduct these interviews.

[queerographies]

[Flux][Jinwoo Chong]

Un'azienda promette una batteria infinita, ma nasconde un segreto che potrebbe cambiare il corso del tempo. Un viaggio emozionante tra passato, presente e futuro, alla ricerca di risposte e di una seconda chance.

Spezzare il flusso del tempo: una corsa contro il passato Titolo: FluxScritto da: Jinwoo ChongTitolo originale: Flux Tradotto da: Luca BriascoEdito da: Minimum FaxAnno: 2024Pagine: 349ISBN: 9788833895703 La trama di Flux di Jinwoo Chong Poco prima di Natale Bo perde sua madre, investita da un autobus e dal flusso del tempo. Vent’anni dopo Brandon perde il lavoro, perché il giornale per cui…

[siriuslygrimm]

Chance and Choice

#BOOKREVIEW - Chance and Choice - #ILeaveItUpToYou #blog

A coma can drastically alter a person’s perception of and interaction with the world around them, which a witty yet disoriented man navigates upon waking from his two-year coma in I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong. Jack Jr. wakes from a coma after 23 months to a world very different from the one he remembers: his advertising job, Manhattan apartment, and partner are all gone but in their…

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Flux | Author: Jinwoo Chong | Publisher: Melville House (2023)

[reviewsthatburn]

DNF 4 hours 18 minutes in (47%).

I like the way the narrative is layered, and the commentary on the role of media in the formation of identity, especially when that media was not ideal representation, all of that was very interesting, and is part of why I kept reading for as long as I did. but either most of what’s in the description for the book doesn’t come in to play until the second half, or I’m missing something huge in the story. I’m not sure which, and I’m ultimately ended up not finishing it. I think this is the first DNF that I might want to revisit later when I’m in a better headspace, that time just isn’t right now. 

Full review at link

[smokefalls]

Title: Flux Author: Jinwoo Chong Publication Year: 2023 Publisher: Melville House Genre: fiction, science fiction, queer lit

I so desperately wanted to like this novel, but it ended up failing to meet my expectations. I think the ideas and concepts Chong was playing with were intriguing, but something about the way he delivered these through his writing style and the structural choices just didn’t work for me, and I found them a bit tedious. I was really struggling to follow what exactly was happening, and I can’t help but wonder if this was a result of not being in the headspace for a novel that clearly required a little more brain power than your average book.

I’d like to revisit Flux in the future, perhaps when I’m in the headspace to handle multiple, intertwining narratives with mind-bending details that all seem to matter. I think my biggest gripe that may or may not change on a second readthrough is that I didn’t find the characters particularly interesting, which could have also played a role in why I struggled so much with this book.

Content Warning: death, grief, dementia, racism, car accident, medical content, references to drug use and suicide

[lifesarchive]

FLUX by JINWOO CHONG (REVIEW)

quick synopsis: a newly unemployed marketing assistant stumbles into a job at a tech start-up for time-traveling research. (young guy living in the city / brothers who don’t get along / parental trauma / apartments and office buildings high in the sky / sketchy CEO’s with too much ego / racist and stereotypical 80’s tv / using tech from the future to fix the past).

This three-part story sits among the likes of ARRIVAL or DEVS… a sci-fi drama where the main character doesn’t figure out what is happening until it has already happened. The writing uses some interesting techniques like intertwining timelines, and narrating the story to a fictional 80’s TV character ‘Raider’. However, it takes forever for the story to gear up, and the drama outweighs the science fiction. The sci-fi (the time-traveling element), is clouded in mystery and is difficult to discern. It happens, but no one talks about it until the end in an underwhelming final exposition. After watching Arrival and DEVS, I saw the ending coming. The story makes it to its destination, but the journey is neither fulfilling nor breathtaking. I can see this souped up with special effects and turned into a Netflix movie… but as a story, it lacks the finesse required to balance drama and science fiction.

★ ★ ★

[bloodmaarked]

flux // jinwoo chong

first published: 2023 read: 12 february 2024 – 26 february 2024 pages: 387 format: ebook

genres: fiction, adult, science fiction (time travel), LGBTQ+ (queer protag) favourite character(s): bo, hal least favourite character(s): brandon, blue (esp. after what he did at the end)

rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 thoughts: flux was a weird one... in terms of being a cool, unusual, experimentative piece, this worked. in terms of the message i suspect the author wanted the reader to take from it, i'm not sure it did.

the general vibe and narrative were stylish and unique compared to anything else i've read before. the pacing was pretty fast, and you piece things together quickly and get taken on a wild ride. i think the main thing for me is that it tried to tackle too many plot points and themes in quite a compact story, which meant i came away from it a little lukewarm and not quite knowing what the author had wanted me to feel or think about after turning the last page. if it had been a bit more focused, this book could've been really special. also, while i grasped most of the plot easily and didn't find it too confusing, there are still some unanswered questions and parts that left me wondering why they were added to the story.

i also think our main character (brandon) could've been more compelling. he's not particularly likeable, which i didn't mind, but he also wasn't particularly interesting and i did find myself wanting to know what was happening with bo and blue instead.

not terrible overall, but not as stellar as i hoped it would be from the cover and blurb.