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challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Adoro a Han Kang. Adoro su escritura, su prosa que se lee como poesía. Lo mucho que puedo sentir en cada palabra, cada frase que utiliza. Siento el dolor de los personajes como si fuese mio. Es belleza pura.
Actos Humanos de Han Kang es uno de mis novelas favoritas de todos los tiempos. Aquel libro hablaba sobre la insurrección de Gwangju que marca la democratización de Corea del Sur en los años 80. En este libro, se relata otra de las tragedias coreanas justo después de la segunda guerra mundial cuando las dos coreas tienen que celebrar elecciones pero cada uno lo hace por su cuenta y estalla la guerra de Corea. Este libro relata una parte de ese período, concretamente la masacre de Jeju. Los militares ejecutaban a todos los que pensaban que tenían relación con los rojos comunistas, incluso cuando no tenían pruebas, indiscriminadamente. Y se pensaba que en la isla de Jeju la mayoría eran rojos.
La voz de Han Kang otra vez es frágilmente bella. Un ejemplo es el contraste de la belleza misma de la nieve comparándola con la muerte. Porque en la historia la madre de Inseon decía que la nieve se acumula en las mejillas de los cadávares en vez de derretirse y su madre tuvo que limpiar la nieve de miles de cadáveres para encontrar a sus familiares.
Esa manera que tiene de relatar una tragedia con tanta delicadeza me llena y me llega.
Actos Humanos de Han Kang es uno de mis novelas favoritas de todos los tiempos. Aquel libro hablaba sobre la insurrección de Gwangju que marca la democratización de Corea del Sur en los años 80. En este libro, se relata otra de las tragedias coreanas justo después de la segunda guerra mundial cuando las dos coreas tienen que celebrar elecciones pero cada uno lo hace por su cuenta y estalla la guerra de Corea. Este libro relata una parte de ese período, concretamente la masacre de Jeju. Los militares ejecutaban a todos los que pensaban que tenían relación con los rojos comunistas, incluso cuando no tenían pruebas, indiscriminadamente. Y se pensaba que en la isla de Jeju la mayoría eran rojos.
La voz de Han Kang otra vez es frágilmente bella. Un ejemplo es el contraste de la belleza misma de la nieve comparándola con la muerte. Porque en la historia la madre de Inseon decía que la nieve se acumula en las mejillas de los cadávares en vez de derretirse y su madre tuvo que limpiar la nieve de miles de cadáveres para encontrar a sus familiares.
Esa manera que tiene de relatar una tragedia con tanta delicadeza me llena y me llega.
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
This is it. This is the book where Han Kang really, truly shines. The pacing is perfect. The imagery pulls at emotions I hadn't thought about in a while. The switching between storylines is so gorgeous and well-timed. Han Kang is a choir conductor and guides her voices to weave in and out of each other so so so beautifully and painfully.
I cried a couple of times. I felt something that I can’t describe very well, but I felt something that made me cry. I'd read a sentence of no big importance and tears would well up. The first time it happened, I realised that this story had done a perfect job of worming its way into my heart and making me think about things that sit at the core what I believe makes up my humanness.
"At some point, she stopped mistaking me for her sisters. She stopped thinking of me as a grown-up who was there to save her, and she stopped asking for help. She spoke to me less and less, and the words she did say were sporadic and scattered, like islands. Then she stopped saying even yes or no, and with that her desires and requests seemed to vanish too. Still, when I placed a peeled mandarin in her hand, she would split it and give me back the bigger half out of lifelong habit, and smile. At which my heart would fall open."
This is her best work. I'm going to think about We Do Not Part a lot.
"Something deep within my heart had dislodged and the blood that streamed from that gouged space was no longer red or flowing. Instead, a flickering pain throbbed at its jagged surface that only resignation could still... I knew that was where my mum had also found herself. Waking from a nightmare, splashing water on my face and gazing at the mirror, I saw the same persistent quality in my features that had branded hers. What astounded me was the sun's rays, that they returned each day. Steeped in the afterimage of my dreams, I would walk to the woods and find their brutally beautiful light penetrating the foliage and creating thousands upon thousands of light drops. Skeletal forms glimmered over the bright beads."
I cried a couple of times. I felt something that I can’t describe very well, but I felt something that made me cry. I'd read a sentence of no big importance and tears would well up. The first time it happened, I realised that this story had done a perfect job of worming its way into my heart and making me think about things that sit at the core what I believe makes up my humanness.
"At some point, she stopped mistaking me for her sisters. She stopped thinking of me as a grown-up who was there to save her, and she stopped asking for help. She spoke to me less and less, and the words she did say were sporadic and scattered, like islands. Then she stopped saying even yes or no, and with that her desires and requests seemed to vanish too. Still, when I placed a peeled mandarin in her hand, she would split it and give me back the bigger half out of lifelong habit, and smile. At which my heart would fall open."
This is her best work. I'm going to think about We Do Not Part a lot.
"Something deep within my heart had dislodged and the blood that streamed from that gouged space was no longer red or flowing. Instead, a flickering pain throbbed at its jagged surface that only resignation could still... I knew that was where my mum had also found herself. Waking from a nightmare, splashing water on my face and gazing at the mirror, I saw the same persistent quality in my features that had branded hers. What astounded me was the sun's rays, that they returned each day. Steeped in the afterimage of my dreams, I would walk to the woods and find their brutally beautiful light penetrating the foliage and creating thousands upon thousands of light drops. Skeletal forms glimmered over the bright beads."
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Beautifully written, almost poetic in style with huge amounts of time (too much?) dedicated to describing the weather and the killings of thousands of people in 1940’s Korea. It’s fair to say this book will appeal to those with an interest in the history of the time but it wasn’t for me at all.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated