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More of a poem than a prose, a lyrical meditation on the colour white and the deep grief that it evokes, on loss, on love, on the possibilities that will never materialise, on regret, on hope, on new beginnings.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
it's my first han kang book and i surely will check out the others.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage
Moderate: Pregnancy
Doesn’t feel right to give this book a rating, it just wasn’t for me.
fast-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
In this deeply tender book of prose-poems, the narrator uses a host of white things — snow, fog, salt, swaddling bands, rice — to reflect on the loss that predates her existence: the death of her mother’s first baby girl.
There is so much visceral imagery and sorrowful wisdom in this book, which moves gracefully from memory to imagination to reflection, from mourning to acceptance to yearning. This is not a linear book, and much of it is spent imagining what her older sister might have been like, hopping from white thing to white thing to experience the world as a girl with different burdens. I was most moved by “Newborn gown” (17), “Moon-shaped rice cake” (19), “Wave” (59), and “Glittering” (99), which left me with some truly indelible images.
A deeply existential and healing read.
There is so much visceral imagery and sorrowful wisdom in this book, which moves gracefully from memory to imagination to reflection, from mourning to acceptance to yearning. This is not a linear book, and much of it is spent imagining what her older sister might have been like, hopping from white thing to white thing to experience the world as a girl with different burdens. I was most moved by “Newborn gown” (17), “Moon-shaped rice cake” (19), “Wave” (59), and “Glittering” (99), which left me with some truly indelible images.
A deeply existential and healing read.
dark
emotional
fast-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:
Complicated
“if she believes that she has never been shattered, she can believe that she will be shattered no more.”
my goodness, i will never see the color white the same again.
my goodness, i will never see the color white the same again.