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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I had no prior knowledge of this Korean student uprising before I read ‘Human Acts’ so it really opened my eyes to the atrocities, and the title is perfect, in the most grim way. I especially enjoyed the first part of the book that takes the reader into the thick of the situation - once we start switching perspectives and between past to present more frequently, it slightly diluted the impact for me, but that’s a personal preference rather than a hard criticism. I highly recommend this novel, and although it’s fairly short, it’s one worth taking your time with.
Human Acts takes as its starting point a massacre (one of many) of high school and middle school student protestors by the Korean military in Gwangju, South Korea in the 80s. Kang sort of positions this brutal trauma as an epicenter, and the novel takes the form of the ripples forward in time and space that emanate from it. The storytelling is inventive and engaging.
I’m sure somewhere a critic has called this “unflinching.” It is. It is not a fun read. There isn’t really a ton of hope here. Kang isn’t here to find a silver lining in an act of state violence against children.
She’s interested in big philosophical questions. When a nation commits horrific violence against itself, what then is the nation? How should one interpret the flag? When humans commit horrific acts against one another, who is it that loses their humanity? What other thing does humanity become?
This is my second Han Kang novel after Greek Lessons. Neither of these has completely landed for me, but I really, really like what she’s doing, and I can see why she was awarded the Nobel. She sees the potential of literature to excavate big, powerful ideas, to understand truths that can’t be described simply or directly. I look forward to reading more of her work.
emotional
reflective
sad
harrowing and hard to read at times but i really do understand why she won the nobel. what a brilliant writer.
dark
sad
fast-paced
This book did not quite resonate with me emotionally, but I still believe it's a 5-star read. It's important, beautifully-written, and brutally honest. I would recommend this book to anyone, regardless of their taste in books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Torture
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I am genuinely shocked by how deeply this moved me. The structure, which switches perspective several times and never returns to the same viewpoint, is one that usually has the frustrating effect of keeping me at a distance. However, there are some writers who prove the exception to this rule, and between this and The Vegetarian, Han Kang has shown me she is absolutely one of them. In her hands, the shifting of perspective becomes a tool that actually pulls us deeper into the emotional core of the novel. I think Dong-ho being the pin that holds all of these perspectives together is a major reason for that, however I know there is much more to it that I can't quite put my finger on. Kang's prose is at once restrained and visceral; it pulls no punches whatsoever, yet deftly skirts anything resembling melodrama. Truly a stunning novel.