What do readers think of This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park? Write your own review.

It's a fabulous story...the main character thinks she can choose the right person for marriage, in order to gain her own personal goals. She finds that she not only made the wrong choice, but also gave up her true love in the bargain. The author also gives a very good insight to the Korean culture. You will find yourself rooting for her with all of the hardships she endures. I loved this book and wished it didn't end. I feel it would be a good book club pick.........

I read the paperback edition of this book.
Was Soo-Jan going to be a traditional Korean woman or a modern one? This was a fascinating post Korean war story of Soo-Jan who gave up her dream of becoming a diplomat, not willingly, but because of her father and expectations. She meets Yul who she loves the night before her hurried marriage. She hopes that her life will be better and she will be able to fulfill her dream. Instead she is now under the rule of her husband and her life is not better. Now she is dealing with the choice that she made and the situation that she finds herself in. She often thinks about what might have been with Yul instead of her husband.
I found it interesting in that each of us deals with the choices that we make and sometimes we regret them, but have to live with our decisions. I would recommend the book to reading groups, book clubs and anyone that has dealt with or is dealing with choice and what is expected of you verse what you want.

It is postwar 1960s and 1970s in South Korea. Soo-Ja doesn’t marry the man she loves but marries the man she feels will fulfill her chance at a successful career. The drama of the love story that evolves is a chance for the reader to learn of the development in South Korea as well as the customs. This was an interesting story and a well-flowing plot.

I hate to admit that the cover of a book could influence my opinion but when I received this paperback from BookBrowse for me to read, I was a little put off by the cover. It reeked of soap opera and bad chick lit! So imagine my surprise when I began reading, I couldn't put the book down. I literally did nothing else but read this book to the finish when I started it. I VERY RARELY do this with any book and I am a voracious reader. Not only was it a beautiful love story, it contained very subtle background information about Korean culture and what life was like in Korea before and after the war. The main character was sort of a Korean Scarlett O'Hara ... strong, determined and unable to accept her lot as a Korean woman. The story chronicles her life from the time she was a naive, privileged young woman through the many ups and downs she experienced as she became a woman and mother. The writing was beautifully poetic yet clear to the plot and the characters were well developed. I didn't want the story to end which is usually a good indicator that I loved the book. I will definitely be checking out this author to see if he has written other books. Well done!