💡Korea’s dark history with imperialism comes to the surface in Susan Choi’s Flashlight, seen through the lens of one family’s troubled timeline. Choi crafts a sweeping tale delving into the life of defiant and smart Louisa, who, at 10 years old, is taken to a consultation for seemingly trauma-induced misbehavior after witnessing the mysterious death of her father.

Flashlight moves back and forth across Louisa’s family’s timeline, shifting between multiple perspectives. While Louisa grapples with the death of her father and growing emotional distance from her mother, decades earlier, her father struggles with a fractured identity and a family shaped by exile in a post-war Korean immigrant community in Japan.

A long but gripping read: Choi expertly maps a geographically vast and intricate struggle with exile, absence, and loss over nearly 500 pages, with a series of historically-framed character studies unfolding in intricately detailed description.

What stands out: Despite the book’s larger political and social context, Choi is able to capture the emotional and psychological nuance in her characters in a striking way. She probes deeply — as if carrying a flashlight — into the implications of displacement and a disconnected history, and how it creates an almost inexpressible sense of grief. What stood out the most was the depth with which each character was drawn and how convincingly grounded they remained — a stark contrast to the backdrop of vast political upheaval.

Our verdict: If you’re drawn to complex family histories and rich emotional landscapes, Flashlight deserves a spot on your TBR. The deft way Choi tackles a range of themes from emotionally heavy parent-child dynamics to hefty moral dilemmas makes it a can’t-miss, in our opinion.

WHERE TO GET IT- You can get the paperback at The Bookspot. You can also find the eBook on Kindle and Kobo.

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