Minnie's Fiction Addiction

👀 First impressions:
From the first page, Flashlight pulled me into a haze of memory, trauma, and mystery. The novel opens with a ten-year-old girl named Louisa in a tense psychiatric session, and from there, it unravels a deeply layered story about family secrets, cultural displacement, and the blurred line between truth and perception. The title itself becomes a perfect metaphor for what this novel does, shining light into dark, tangled corners of personal and political histories.

✅ What I Liked:
Susan Choi’s writing is phenomenal. Her prose is razor-sharp yet emotionally rich, moving between timelines and continents with elegance and purpose. I loved the ambition of this novel, it’s part family drama, part geopolitical thriller, and part coming-of-age tale. The emotional core is strong, especially in the way it explores how children process abandonment, identity, and secrecy. Louisa is a prickly but fascinating protagonist whose voice lingers long after the final page.

The themes are wide-reaching: memory, legacy, cultural identity, and the way trauma echoes through generations. Choi handles all of this with subtlety and power. There are moments of raw vulnerability, but also scenes of surprising humour and warmth.

❎ What I didn’t Like:
While I admired the scope of the novel, there were stretches that felt slower than necessary. The middle section, in particular, meandered a bit too long, and some of the international subplots, though thematically rich, didn’t always land with the same emotional punch as the more intimate moments.

Louisa herself might be a sticking point for some readers. She’s not particularly warm or likable, and she keeps a lot hidden. I personally enjoyed her complexity, but I can see how her emotional distance might make it harder for others to connect with her.

📚 Why You Should Read This Book:
If you enjoy literary fiction that’s both ambitious and deeply personal, Flashlight will be right up your alley. It’s perfect for readers who appreciate character-driven stories with intricate structures and don’t mind a slower pace. This is a novel that asks you to sit with discomfort, to reflect, and to stay curious—just like the characters themselves must do.

💭 Final Thoughts:
Flashlight is an emotionally intelligent and thematically rich novel that explores how we carry the past, how we misremember it, and how we try to make sense of the shadows left behind. It’s not a quick or easy read, but it’s a rewarding one. Susan Choi continues to push the boundaries of what literary fiction can do, and this book proves why she’s a master of her craft.

🛍️ Where to buy
To buy your own copy click HERE

Final Rating ★★★★ – A beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel with a few pacing issues but a lasting impact.