The story of the Joseon Dynasty is unfamiliar to me. So the ending came as a surprise to me. I really enjoyed this story. The beautiful descriptions of the Korean court. We see Yi Jin's view of life in Paris. The grace and poetry of the traditional ways as well as the downside. ( )

Set in the early 1900s and loosely based on a true story, The Court Dancer is about a young and beautiful orphan named Yi Jin, who becomes a favorite of the Korean Empress and is trained as a court dancer. When a French diplomat sees her dance, he declares himself in love and is allowed to take her back with him to France where she spends some years translating Korean literature and experiencing life in the Belle Epoque era.

The book's focus is on Yi Jin but it also paints a vivid picture of her surroundings both in Korea and in France. Suffering from both depression and homesickness, she is eventually returned to Korea but she has changed so much during her time away that she is once again caught between cultures and with Japan’s annexation of Korea, her country is vastly changed as well.

While the setting of the Korean Imperial Court was fascinating and the story held a great deal of interest for me, there was something lacking in the writing. It may have been the translation but I felt detached from the story and found it unable to stir my emotions. Even though this book had so many of the ingredients I look for in historical fiction it failed to totally draw me in, but I would say if you have a particular interest in Korea or this time period, it may well be worth picking up this book as I note that many people do seem to like it. ( )

***WHO SUCKED ME IN***
Matthew Sciarappa in their Interview With an Translator | Anton Hur video on YouTube published on juli 7 2018.

Such a fascinating interview. It really made me want to read a book I would normally never pick up. The questions were excellent but the answers even better.

On a side note the editing was amazing. I could 'feel' the creators personality throughout the video.

Intriguing historical romance, light on the romance and more steadfastly faithful to the palace intrigue. The reader does feel captured in an intimate world of royal domestic goings on. The characters stand distinguished and well drawn from all walks of late 19th C. Korean urban life, but with an emphasis on two who have artistic talent, the dancer heroine and the musician unrequited lover.

Aspects of the novel that kept me reading were the depiction of the cultural destruction and reconstitution illustrated by the heroine's and mute musician's beginnings in a Catholic orphanage; the incursions by western powers, primarily French, less German, for the purpose of economic exploitation; the ineffective rule of the Korean emperor in resisting Chinese and Japanese political machinations and warfare within his country's borders; and the drama these factors had on the actions of the main characters.

The novel, taken from the most general view is a classic example of Kipling's remark that East and West, never the twain shall meet, as intimately illustrated by the heroine's long love affair with a French consular official that took her from Korea to France. And one is reminded of Thomas Wolfe's admonition that you can't go home again at the end of the novel.

Atmosphere is the book's strong point; operatic melodrama is its end point. In spite of this lukewarm review, I believe Yi Jin's story is above average for the abundant lessons in Korean history delivered so artfully by Kyung-Sook Shin as to be painless and fascinating. The writing is as brilliant as the Court Dancer's performances. And the inevitability of the denouement is emotionally affecting. There is power enough in the novel to stay with the reader for a long time. ( )

I found this on Hoopla, and after listening to [book:The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness|25329006] earlier this year, I decided to try this. The Hoopla summary did not tell me it was based on a true story--those are generally my least favorite sort of novel, as I would rather read a nonfiction book about the same topic. However, I have no idea if a nonfiction book about this woman's life is available in English.

Yi Jin had a remarkable life. From orphan, to Court Dancer and Queen favorite in the Joseon Court, to companion of the French Legate in France. She misjudges everything when she returns to Korea--he position, the status of the court trying to balance Chinese, Japanese, and and Russian interests with Korea's own interests. She is there when the court falls.

This book was...OK. The narrator was wonderful, but I kept finding my mind drifting, and could really only listen to an hour or so at a time. I don't know if it would have been better on paper. It just felt slow and repetitive. Given the fascinating life this woman led, the slow feeling surprised me.

I definitely learned a lot about late 19th century Korea and Korean history--how court worked, and the political issues going on at the time. I don't know how much is correct and how much is embellished, but it was certainly interesting. ( )