O Livro da Família Gu (2013)

Please forgive me if this review's going to be a little unconventional, I'm in no mood for serious considerations on a drama that doesn't take itself too seriously. The followings are random conversations between me and my watching partner, aka my husband (H). Try to imagine us as the two old men at the end of The Muppet Show.





H: Why the heck is he (Seung Gi) pining for that almost sister of his when he can have the prettier and much nicer one (Suzy)?

Me: He thinks she's a boy.

H: Rrrrrright. And the winner of Genius of the Year is…

[Kang Chi finds out Yeo Wol's a girl in a slightly unorthodox way]

H: Ok, I take back everything I've said before: the guy IS a genius!!!!



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[scene: Kang Chi and Yeo Wol are staring into each other's eyes]

H: Whoa, he's finally going to kiss the girl

Me: Hmm, I wouldn't be that optimistic.

H: Trust me, he has that glint in his eyes. He's going to kiss her, I tell you!

Music: "Saranghaee, saranghaeeeeeeeeee, SARANGHAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"

[more staring followed by sudden wrist grabbing]

H: Finally…

[off they go eating]

*collective and colourful grunts from the audience*

Me: He clearly hasn't taken after his father

H: Yeah, daddy knew his business. Save the girl, hide the girl, kiss the girl, ta-da… a BABY!



°°°°°°°°°°°°°

[the monk urges Kang Chi to flee for the nth time]

Me: Is that monk ever going to give a valuable advice? Nobody listens to him anyway.

H: Ikr? That monk is as useful as a concrete parachute (he used a different simile, but it can't be repeated here)



°°°°°°°°°°°°°

H: His eyes turned green! What do you think, is he going to morph into Perry Parky now?

Me: Sure, Perry Park would bomb them all, but if you want him to kiss the girl, Shin Se Gi's definitely the one to morph into.

H: Shin Se Gi had red eyes and eyeliner.

Me: True. Like daddy gumiho, now that I think of it.

H: Daddy again. Are we sure Kang Chi's not the monk's child?

(references to Kill Me, Heal Me are sort of involuntary. I hereby decline every responsibility)



°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Me: What do you think is that Gu Book about?

H: A kissing manual?

Me: A recipe for Kimchi, more likely.

"Saranghaee, saranghaeeeeeeeeee, SARANGHAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"



°°°°°°°°°°°°

[Kang Chi, his face half covered with a scarf, is surrounded by his comrades, all demanding to know who he is]

Me: Are we the only ones who would recognize him from a 10-km distance? I mean, the clothes, the hairdo, the bracelet…

H: I know. Perhaps they think it's the head Gisaeng incognito. After all, they share 1 neuron among the 20 of them.



°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Me: LOL, now that thug thinks his dongsaeng Kang Chi's gay. A gay gumiho is an interesting take of the trope

H: So he too thinks Yeo Wol is a boy? This drama should be called "The Goofy Family Book"



°°°°°°°°°°°°°

H: Ha, now he's really going to kiss the girl!

Me: You may be right this time. The moment is perfect and the song is clearly suggesting romance.

[7 and a half minutes later, the scene is still frozen like it was 7 and a half minutes before]

Me [making coffee]: Are their heads a little closer now?

H: Hmmm, I'm not sure. 2 cm closer, maybe?

Me: All right, I'm making sandwiches. And please mute that misleading Saranghae song before I explode.



°°°°°°°°°°°



To give this review some semblance of usefulness, let me conclude by saying this is a highly entertaining drama, with a good, rounded-up plot, lots of fun – although laughter is often involuntarily induced - a Seung Gi who never fails to put me in a good mood by simply existing, a lovable Suzy, a despicable villain with a certain, almost compelling elegance, good romance and a fairy-tale feel that won't let you down. Recommended to everyone looking for a light watch with glints of unexpected depth and an awesome finale . If you have a watching partner to frolic with, so much the better.



P.S. Allow me a tiny spoiler: the kiss does come, after all, much to the joy of the two Muppet Old Men.

Leia Mais

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa this drama is just WOW big times!!!!!!Every scene was better than the previous one! The only question that I was asking myself during this drama was: "Why I haven't watched this drama before?"

Why you MUST watch this drama!
- A beautiful pure love story between a gumiho Choi Kang Chi and Dam Yeo Wool
- intense with a lot of action!
- it makes you laugh
- and what I always LOVE about a quality drama is that it gives you all EMOTIONS

The beginning was soooo DAEBAK! A love story between Choi Kang Chi's father and mother was something that it made me keep watching it! l And then (after the first 2 episodes) my addiction started! EVERY SCENE IS UNPREDICTABLE AND FULL OF TWISTS!!!!!
The ending of this drama is EPIC! I can't get over it and keep replaying that scene over and over! :D

Music: This drama has one of the best OSTs of all time! From the thrilling to the romantic ones! I seriously loved every ost in here!

Acting:
Suzy is a good actress,I like her, but yet her crying face seems a little fake. She pulled this off pretty good ;)
OMG! Lee Seung Gi was a major reason why I started this drama. I'm a big fan of him and in this drama he was AMAZING! OMG, while he was crying I was crying along with him :'(
The other ones are pretty good too :D

Too add one more reason why I liked this drama is that there are true quotes about life, love, friendship...
I just LOVE this kind of drama and I soooo thank writers! It's very unique and epic!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE! :D

Leia Mais

I wanted to wait as long as possible before writing a review on this... I needed time to collect my feels and push away my biased opinions.

Want a short, general idea? Go down to the bottom. *no specific spoilers*

Music: It was great music. I loved listening to it and downloaded the OST's. It seemed to match the mood perfectly (it brought tears to my eyes more than once) and I don't think I will be forgetting the music anytime soon.

Rewatch: I've already rewatched numerous scenes from Gu Family Book, either to refresh my memory on what had happened previously, or to further appreciate the beautifully heartbreaking scenes (which seemed to dominate the beginning and end of this drama). However, as an entire drama, I do not think I will be rewatching it anytime soon for two reasons: I don't think my heart can take much more heartbreaking scenes, and there were some slow parts that I am hesitant to put myself through again.

Acting/Cast: My gosh were they amazing. This was almost an entirely new cast to me, and I only saw a few familiar faces, but I was definitely taken aback by their acting ability. Yes, many of you may swoon for Lee Seung Gi and Suzy, but you will find yourself adoring the supporting cast as well. The entire cast was delightful to watch (esp Gon, the Monk, and Jung Yoon) - I found myself empathizing with them, relating to them, pitying them, loving them, and (for the bad guys) hating them so much I wanted to reach through the screen and put an end to them myself (props to the actors for portraying "evil" and "cruel" so convincingly). The crying was contagious. Once Kang Chi or Wol Ryung started crying, my gosh I just couldn't stop. Magnificent acting. No complaints here.

Story: Here we go.
Beginning: LOVED it. This may be the BEST beginning to a drama that I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot). Forget hooks, this drama was a black hole that immediately sucks you in to the story. You will not be able to stop halfway through the beginning. All the pieces fit perfectly. The romance was there and blossoming, the suspense was escalating, characterization was established, the heartbreaking scenes were present... I honestly don't think there was anything missing. Beautiful. *mwah*

Middle: ... It was so-so. In fact, it was almost disappointing after the perfect introduction. There was a big leap between beginning and middle, which almost made me drop the drama. Why? Everything in the beginning was perfect to the point where it seemed like a mini-drama itself. As a result, when the time skip happened, BAM. All the characters you loved disappeared, the explosion of suspense only left dust in its wake... it was a new beginning. One that I did not want, nor did I like. Where were the characters whom I was crying for? Yearning for? Gone. But it was ok. The hole that was left was quickly repaired by a new story, new characters to love, new romances formed, and more suspense on the way... sort of. There were slow parts, and sometimes it was deadly slow. For me (an action lover), it was frustrating. But the slow parts helped develop the romance between the characters.* A break from all the melodrama and tragedies. However, stay with it and halfway through, the characters from the beginning will come back, completely reborn. Once they did, the story sped up and there was enough action to keep me watching until the...

*speaking of romance, the romance was great in this drama. Great chemistry between all the couples, and unlike many other dramas, the romance was pure. There was no revenge after betrayal, nor doubt about their love. The women were fighters and the men were gentle, forgiving, protective, and endlessly loveable.

End: I don't actually know if I like it or not, which might be an advantage for me writing an unbiased review of the end. Before the end there was a mini end for the characters from the beginning (Wol Ryung, Seo Hwa etc.). That end... was beautifully done. I found myself crying... but I was happy and content. The problems were concluded and everything was "fixed", in a way. But the story moved forward. The actual end... hm. On one hand, all the loose ends were tied up (even the smallest of details), justice was served, and everything was wrapped up into a nice, neat bundle. Goodbyes were made, explanations were given, and things were concluded- wait what?! That was my exact reaction as I watched the last part of the last episode. I was hit in the face with a boulder that said "PSYCH. It's not over yet". I was... very surprised, not expecting the ending at all. Of course I'm not going to give it away, but remember what I said about new beginnings? Well. I'm still in shock from being hit in the face with that boulder. Then again, the end provides a great leeway into a second series (there better be a second series for the sake of my sanity) and a gateway for your imagination to run wild. What. Happened. Next?

General: All in all, it was a great drama. The beginning was a black hole that sucked viewers in, the middle was sort of like floating in space, not really getting anywhere, and the end was like you crash landed on another planet. The cast was perfect in every way, the romance was innocent and forgiving (due to Kang Chi and Wol Ryung's amazing personalities) and the supporting characters were just as interesting to watch as the main cast. Even if you are not interested in the supernatural aspect, you should still watch it because it does not really focus on that part, but more on the difficulties in life aspect.

Not your type of drama? Message me and I may be able to pull out some other recommendations for you ^^

Leia Mais

I started this drama for obvious reasons - Lee Seung Gi and Suzy. But this drama instantly gripped me with the parents' story. Before I knew it, I was gushing over Wol Ryung's cuteness and crying over his sad 'demise'. For me, Wol Ryung and Seo Hwa had a truly classic and epic love story. Coming to the other cast, Kang Chi is like my role model now. He's just so pure and righteous, without ever acting superior. And Yeo Wool was just the kind k-drama lead that I love. She never annoyed me and I just loved her kickass-ness. It was weird seeing Sung Joon in a supportive role after his amazing performance in Shut up! Flower Boy Band. But I loved him as Gon too :)

I think this drama had the right balance of suspense, comedy, fantasy and romance.

Leia Mais

Gu Family Book is a great historical drama to get lost in. It didn't even feel like it was 24 episodes long. Sure, it's another Gumiho story staring Lee Seung Gi, but it's completely different from My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (which I loved FYI). Though there's a familiar theme of star-crossed lovers, Gu Family Book is more of a fairy tale, and Choi Kang Chi's story at times feels like a superhero origins story. From start to finish I was completely hooked on the story, and the characters.

The story centers around 2 ill-fated loves. I thought both stories weaved together well, without feeling too cheesy, or forced. Gu Wol Ryung & Yoon Seo Hwa's tragic romance had me hooked from the very beginning. Choi Kang Chi & Dam Yeo-Wool's chemistry kept me excited about what would happen next. I'll admit that the story was a bit predictable at times, and there were a few frustrating questions left unanswered (specifically about the Gu Family Book), but the amazing cast made every episode enjoyable. At no point was I ever really bored.

Lee Seung Gi is one of my favorites. I've loved him in every drama I've seen him in, so it was great seeing him in a role where he gets to evolve into a true hero. He was perfectly complimented by Suzy, who plays a strong heroine, not just the pretty damsel in distress. They worked well with each other, and even made some of the cheesier love moments work.

I think the entire cast did a great job, so it's hard to single any actors out, even though I did have a few favorite characters. I hated who I was supposed to hate (Lee Sung-jae is such a good villain), and empathized with the entire colorful cast of characters. I also loved that many of the characters, weren't completely good or bad, which gave them more depth (Choi Jin Hyuk looked so good being bad, and Jo Jae Yun was hilarious). Though they played 'over the top' at times, I had to give the cast a 10.

The script I think was a bit too ambitious, which Is why I gave the story an 8. I don't think there were many plot holes, and I can forgive predictable stories if they are entertaining, which this was. There were actually a few moments that caught me completely off guard, and that kept the feeling of suspense going. I do think that some of the explanations were a little too far fetched, which made it hard for me to connect emotionally. I did not cry during the "sad" parts, because they were so melodramatic. Still, I was completely invested in the characters, which I think is a testament to the outstanding cast.

I did not love the music as much as others did, but it did compliment the mood well. I could see myself rewatching this, and still being entertained, but I wouldn't call this drama one of my favorites.

The ending does leave the door open for the possibility of a sequel, which is an exciting thought.

Overall, I would say this is worthy of any Sageuk to watch list. It was not perfect, but it was exciting, and enjoyable enough to get a "great" score from me. If you are willing to suspend your belief, I think you'll enjoy it too.

Leia Mais

This drama should have not been called: Gu Family Book, because it was less about the book and instead more about the Gumiho family, and half the time we forget about the book, anyway.

This was my first historical drama that I have finished up to date and it really encouraged me to finish the other historical dramas I have started.

I really started watching this because, I love Gumihos and Lee Seung gi, but, for me who really stole the whole show was Choi Jin Hyuk and the ladies who played the younger and older roles of his wife. I wanted the whole drama in the end to be about them rather than the main characters.

If you watch this drama for the acting you will not be disappointed. All the main characters are great actors and it really makes the drama interesting and fun to watch.

The music in this drama will not disappoint you, in fact, most of these songs you will love and want to listen to again and again.

The ending for me was quite disappointing. I did not feel that there was enough resolution in the end for some of the plot points and characters.

In general though, I did find the story entertaining and fun to watch. But, it lacked some necessary elements to make it one of the top dramas of the year.

Leia Mais

This is my first review on this drama, so please bear with me here!

I know that some people will not agree with what I'm going to say, but I thought this was an outstanding drama. It was NOT perfect, but really good. Sure, the action might not be that superb, but the story kept me interested throughout the whole drama. I especially loved the parent's story. Wol Ryung still loved Seo Hwa even after what she did. Even though kang Chi and Yeo Wool's story isn't as deep, it was still so cute! ^_^

Acting/Cast... Lee Seung Gi is amazing as always! I could feel his emotions and all. Of course Choi Jin hyuk was fabulous too. Suzy's acting truly impressed me. I know some people hate her acting, but she did well here! She carried out her character really good. I thought she couldn't act back in Dream High and I was ready for her to ruin the drama for me, but she was great ! I wish the chemistry between Suzy and Seung Gi is a bit better though..

Story... I really liked the story honestly. It really kept my interest up. But it jumps all over the place sometimes. Kang Chi's goal was to find the Gu Family Book, but because of so many problems occurring, he ended up not. And I didn't like the ending much either....

the Music was absolutely amazing! I love Suzy's Ost "Don't Forget Me" !

There ya go! I really do recommend this drama. My favorite drama of this year so far!

Leia Mais

This was seriously one amazing drama. The lovestories (2 of them) were truly amazing, I think I actually cried for WolRyung after the second episode (seriously tear striking scene).
I also liked how well the cast acted and didn't make me think of roles they played in previous dramas as much.
This drama is totally recommended to anyone looking for a good drama to watch
One thing about the drama though, which was kind of >.< nerve wrecking is like probably 99.9% of the people who watched it feeling that there SHOULD be a second season.
If you see the ending or if you've already seen it
Notice that had they ended with the song playing an the pictures moving (not trying to spoil so best alternative) it would have been understandable. However, they did not! They added those last 10 seconds, which created a total cliffhanger.
Also when you see the last ep, you kind of see the ending coming, but I was still surprised by how good LeeSeungKi looked in the end.

Anyways, like you can see by my scores. I personally absolutely loved this drama, and I'm so glad I started watching it.

Leia Mais

So happy to have discovered this drama and I finished it in two days! For those who fear that you might get bored in the middle because this drama is 24-episodes long, you cannot be more wrong.
First of all, I love the fact that it included two love stories comparing the father's and the son's situation.
Second, the actors are amazing, they did a pretty great job. They couldn't have picked a better actor to play Wul Ryong than Choi Jin Hyuk, or a better actress to play Yeo Wool that Bae Suzy. I absolutely love those two!
Jin Hyuk didn't need much word to convey his love, passion, anguish or even rage and anger, and trust me, when he cries you will too!!
The fact that Yeo Wool, isn't some whinny, spoiled girl of a noble made the drama not-one-second boring. Bae Suzy plays a lively, sassy, joyful girl who is loved by everyone around her.
Of course Lee Seung Gi, plays his role of the half-gumiho perfectly. He does remind me a lot of funny, courageous, rushing-into-action-without-a-plan, heroic Naruto! As well as all the other casting.. and oh all the actors are so handsome *-*
And last but not least, is Lee Sung Jae, waaahhh I never hated an antagonist as much as I hated him. So he did an awesome job!
I liked the ending, it took me off by surprise, and so unexpected but I guess just the one this drama needed.
Look forward to it!

I highly recommend this drama for those love fantasy, romance and action, main characters who are out of the ordinary and those who want a drama to make you laugh and cry and scream out of frustration.
I am actually happy that I watched it after all the episodes were aired. ^^

The only negative point to this drama, are the flashbacks, but well that is the fact for most kdramas XD

So watch it... NOW :)

Leia Mais

The reason I began watching Gu Family Book was honestly because of Lee Seung Gi , but as the drama progressed I fell in love with the storyline . I got "the feels" in every single episode. I couldn't wait till the next episode aired, I would wait for what seemed like forever, it seemed like a new episode would never come again, it kept me wanting more! Just when I thought I knew what would happen BAM!!right in the face! It would blow my mind how many times it was able to surprise me . As for the romance of the drama, it .... I .....ugh....there's no way to put it into words that would describe it as magically as it is. I feel this pain in my stomach as I'm writing this review. The "feels " it gives me while just thinking about the drama can only be understood once you watch the drama from beginning to end. As for the reason why I rated the rewatch value so poorly was because I cannot afford to break my heart twice from such a perfect love story.. I cannot afford to shed anymore tears . Once I watched this drama I told myself that I would never watch anymore dramas again, because my heart hurt so much. I couldn't believe how much it HURT me . But I LOVE IT. My favorite drama .

Leia Mais

By the first day, I was on episode 11. And I couldn't stop thinking about it. The music kept repeating itself in my head, the main character kept showing up in my mind, and you could say I'm obsessed. I'll never underestimate those historical dramas my mom keeps watching ever again.

The whole story is full of betrayals and tumbling events that make you want to dive into the screen and punch somebody. Emotion is everywhere, and I've never cried so many times in a drama. However, I really don't like the ending, I think it's one of those great big bad mistakes that great TV shows make. I can't post a spoiler here, but you'll know what I'm talking about if you watch it.

Leia Mais