This novel contains a strong plot based on family. It's pages make you think what does int take to keep a family together even when the connection that binds each family member together is about to break. The plot unforgivingly sets the picture of a man named Kyung who is having financial problems with his family of three. He has a wife and they have one son together. They are trying everything they can to get out of debt but then a horrid event befalls Kyung's mother, father, and their maid. Soon they are all living under the same roof, forcing Kyung to face the scars inflicted by his parents that never healed. Jung's writing gives a first person look into what its like to be a Korean American man that came from an abusive home. Kyung's character is a man who takes on the role as father, husband, and son without being emotionally connected to these roles. He fills these roles because they need to be filled more than the fact that he desires to be active in these roles. The only thing he seems emotionally connected to is his parents. Its not for good reasons either. His scars caused by his past greatly effect the way he treats his family or maybe even every single person he comes in contact with. Shelter's plot is like a boiling pot that bubbles over with each turn of the page. Tensions run high with each character interaction. What hurts someone the most is what is left unsaid. Loved ones stay in wait for someone they hold dear to reach out to them. Just listening can be enough to put a person's mind at ease. Isn't that also family? Having people who are not only related but people that you can also confide in and lean on. The biggest conflict in this novel is that none of the characters truly have this essence of what it means to be a family. They tried their hardest to cover up their emotional scars only to have tragedy reveal them again. Plot elements such as this make Shelter very interesting. A reader will want to know which character will snap first as the pages keep turning. One thing is for sure, once you snap, there's no turning back.
While the plot is based heavily on Kyung's inner thoughts, these thoughts also open up a chance to experience the stereotypes and other hardships Kyung faces as a Korean American. He doesn't speak Korean at all. His parents also don't speak Korean to him causing him to not have a solid connection to his parent's motherland. Many Korean Americans don't know Korean from my experience and if they do know how to speak the language, its not completely fluent. Kyung also married outside of the Korean race which is a big no in Korean traditional customs. Now you know that Kyung's child is biracial and he doesn't know how to love his child like a father should because he never learned. He can't even teach his child about his Korean roots thanks to the lack of his parents teaching him. Readers who actually pay attention to the stereotypes the minority races face should know a few off the top of your head that Asian Americans face. For example, All of them are Chinese or they have no masculinity since the media tells us that they can only be weak nerdy men.(unless you want to talk about the stereotypical martial arts roles.) Yun makes reference to this in the first few pages of Shelter then she brings the truthful negative ideas of an Asian man marrying a White women to light close to the novel's conclusion. Many white families still can't imagine their daughter bringing home an Asian guy.(We talking white girls that are not obsessed with Korean pop music.) Especially in these times when Trump supporters feel the need to tell a person to go back to their own country. Last time I checked, The race that America truly belongs to was the Indians. Also note that I said the word "many" not "all". I'm aware that Asian men marry White women and are on good terms with her side of the family. Love can be colorblind like that. I connected to the introduction of Korean church culture that was presented in Shelter too. I'm an African American(black) guy who is majoring in East Asian studies so I've taken five years of Korean language study. When I first started taking my study of Korean seriously, I attended a Korean church for three years just for one on one Korean lessons.(No, they weren't free if thats what you're thinking.) Situations that were described in Shelter's pages reflected a lot of what I experienced during my time attending a Korean church. Only difference is that I'm a black guy that somewhat was outcasted but I kept coming to service because I was determined to learn Korean. The people were generally nice to me but I noticed the way things worked around there. Women got into groups and would smile in your face the first minute then turn around and talk about you behind your back the next minute. One women pulled me in a room one time to give me a scarf that she made for me for christmas. When I asked her in Korean why she couldn't give the scarf to me in front of everyone else, she said " They would talk about me and I don't want that.". Reading about the way Kyung viewed the church his father belonged to brought back memories for me. Kyung's mother and father are typical Korean family that moved from South Korea to the American dream. I couldn't bear too much of their behavior. They made me cringe because Kyung was the actually victim in all of this but he's not helped by his parents in the slightest. Both of them were lost causes that didn't deserve to have a child. Kyung's wife was caught in the whirlwind which was Kyung's family. She tries to fit into the image of a perfect Korean family for Kyung's parents. Doesn't work out too well though. Her side of the family makes matters worse as well. This family situation can't get anymore dysfunctional and it makes for a nail bitting read.
I picked up Shelter at one of my local Barnes and Nobles on a whim. Didn't think the pages would hook me like they did. Jung Yun is an author to keep on the look out for.
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