Reading this right before a presidential election in the United States, where the votes are seemingly along gender lines, was both unsettling and encouraging. Unsettling because sexism and misogyny seem so uniform and pervasive no matter where you go. Encouraging because giving voice to what is happening can be an awakening to those reading.

This is not just the story of the central character, Jiyoung but her mother’s aunt’s, sister and friends. It charts the line of how even giving birth to a girl can seem treacherous, to how being society’s ideal of a stay at home mom can be tainted by hate and suspicion.

The writing wavers between a diary entry to journalistic – all which make sense when reaching the conclusion of the novel. There isn’t an easy answer to how Jiyoung should navigate her life while the voices of the women around her pour out of her mouth except to force those with power to try to listen and understand.