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A review by gen_wolfhailstorm
The White Book by Han Kang
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
Despite being completely different, this had the captivating and unusual pull to the writing that enchanted me when I read The Vegetarian, some years ago.
Han Kang's The White book looks at grief, particularly that of the premature passing of her mother's first child; a death that she wasn't there for, but one that she shoulders nonetheless, with unanswerable questions of "what-if"? As she takes on all the potential emotions her mother must have felt at the time and pondered about what it all could have been, had her sister survived.
Writing in Warsaw, Poland, all the destruction of the war stands out to Kang (through the absence or architecture no older than 70 years) as she goes through an exploration of white things, all interconnected to war, death, grief and the sister she never knew.
Very experimental in nature, but an incredibly compelling and thought-provoking autobiography. If I hadn't picked it up just before bed, I would have definitely finished it in a day (an hour or less, if uninterrupted).
Han Kang's The White book looks at grief, particularly that of the premature passing of her mother's first child; a death that she wasn't there for, but one that she shoulders nonetheless, with unanswerable questions of "what-if"? As she takes on all the potential emotions her mother must have felt at the time and pondered about what it all could have been, had her sister survived.
Writing in Warsaw, Poland, all the destruction of the war stands out to Kang (through the absence or architecture no older than 70 years) as she goes through an exploration of white things, all interconnected to war, death, grief and the sister she never knew.
Very experimental in nature, but an incredibly compelling and thought-provoking autobiography. If I hadn't picked it up just before bed, I would have definitely finished it in a day (an hour or less, if uninterrupted).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Pregnancy and War