Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

So, yeah, I could go on and on about the fetishization, racism, etc.   I though it wasn't that bad, but had heard about the issue of people being offended by this.   And in particular, since Park is half Korean, that Koreans were upset about the representation here. 

And I wrote a post about how it was somewhat aware.   I think it is, at least on some level, but then I read this: 

Angry Girl Reviews: Review of Eleanor and Park

And I went, wow, no, I just wasn't being as vigilant as I should have been.   And maybe it's because I'm white, which makes me feel, if anything, more uncomfortable that I missed that the awareness was rather shallow.  

I do disagree with the Angry Girl Review on some level: I liked the relationship Park had with his parents.   Yes, they were a bit one dimensional in comparison to Eleanor and Park themselves, but I thought that Mindy's initial reaction to Eleanor showed hidden depths when she found out about Eleanor's family and made a connection, and was willing to give her a second chance.    Yes, maybe the treatment of the family situation could have been given more depth.   But then again, isn't this a love story?   Isn't this about how first love can make everything else nonexistent?   

We are getting the narrative from two love-struck teenagers, and Romeo and Juliet are used as counterpoints at some points in the story.   What if the parents, and the home situation, weren't as flat as they seemed?   Are we to honestly trust both Eleanor and Park as narrators?   I know I don't.    On the other hand, this doesn't let Rowell of the hook completely, especially not given that the Angry Girl Review mentions that similar treatment is given to other serious issues in Fangirl. 

So I'm conflicted.   Because I really, really liked Eleanor and Park, both the book and the two main characters.   I really liked their relationship, I liked how it ended, even though it broke my heart, and I liked all the witty references.   Having read more about this, and having through it through, I'm not wholly convinced that this is great representation.   

But maybe the book's brilliance is that it does capture first love.   Let me put it this way: if Park weren't Asian at all, this book wouldn't be missing much.   A couple jokes - like the jungle fever joke - that could be replaced by something else.   His mom wouldn't speak broken English, maybe, but that could also be replaced.   The Mindy meets hubby story could be a bit different.   But it wouldn't change anything critical about the book.   Park could be the same character, his father could be just as obsessed with marital arts and force his kids to take it, without him being Korean.   

So despite the racist undertones, this book would stand up without them.   Which actually is all the more upsetting, in some ways, because why, then?   Is it just so ingrained?   I think Rowell thought she was doing something great by including the Korean war storyline, but, no, not so much.  In fact, reading her whys when reading up on this, it seems like it was a wish fulfillment about her own family life. 

Anyway, yeah, I still just loved this book.   It made me glow, it made me feel, and despite some of the shitty treatment of Koreans, I think it had some important things to say.   Which sucks because the racism undermines the other important things the book has to say.  

I'm conflicted about recommending this now, but I do still think it was a worthwhile read.   I just think that reading it with an awareness of the fact that it does have racist undertones that some may find upsetting. 

Oh, and yeah, rageface because I thought this was going to be fluffy.   It's surprisingly fluffy for how depressing it was, but Primus, why was there no warnings about abusive family members?   Seriously, book?   This isn't just a romance story like your blurb makes it sound. 

Still, I kinda loved you, so once again, I'm left with conflicted.