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A review by scribepub
Princess Bari by Hwang Sok-yong
Hwang Sok-yong is undoubtedly the most powerful voice of the novel in Asia today.
Kenzaburo Oe, Winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Literature
Drawing on an old Korean folktale about a princess on a quest and intertwining it with modern life in China and London, Sok-yong chronicles Bari’s journey in an enchanting style that explores Korean culture, beautifully balances reality with magic, and presents an immigrant’s perspective of the world.
Yen Magazine
An evocative, modern-day quest from one of Korea's most renowned novelists … a story of the search for home and a timely, surreal reminder of the cost of war and the desperate measures people will take to escape.
BMA Magazine
A mesmerizing odyssey through the beauty, suffering, and rage that flow from the irrepressible desire to live.
Kirkus
Compelling and heartrending … In Hwang’s probing, compassionate work, Western readers unfamiliar with Eastern philosophy and culture will experience new takes on folkloric wisdom born of the enduring collective imagination.
Los Angeles Review of Books
Hwang Sok-Yong sets Princess Bari in the midst of Korean history, giving the reader insight not only into his characters, but into the history of his home country. He paints a picture of a family living through this horrific time, but intertwines it with the fantastical mythology of the great Princess Bari, known to many Koreans as Barigongju (바리공주) … perhaps we can use the mythology of Princess Bari as a response to the questions of today – as a guide to release from suffering.
Corrie Hulse, The Mantle
Hwang is perhaps the most intensely compassionate writer I’ve ever encountered, telling stories of great suffering with great tenderness and without sensationalism.
Nerd Daily
Kenzaburo Oe, Winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Literature
Drawing on an old Korean folktale about a princess on a quest and intertwining it with modern life in China and London, Sok-yong chronicles Bari’s journey in an enchanting style that explores Korean culture, beautifully balances reality with magic, and presents an immigrant’s perspective of the world.
Yen Magazine
An evocative, modern-day quest from one of Korea's most renowned novelists … a story of the search for home and a timely, surreal reminder of the cost of war and the desperate measures people will take to escape.
BMA Magazine
A mesmerizing odyssey through the beauty, suffering, and rage that flow from the irrepressible desire to live.
Kirkus
Compelling and heartrending … In Hwang’s probing, compassionate work, Western readers unfamiliar with Eastern philosophy and culture will experience new takes on folkloric wisdom born of the enduring collective imagination.
Los Angeles Review of Books
Hwang Sok-Yong sets Princess Bari in the midst of Korean history, giving the reader insight not only into his characters, but into the history of his home country. He paints a picture of a family living through this horrific time, but intertwines it with the fantastical mythology of the great Princess Bari, known to many Koreans as Barigongju (바리공주) … perhaps we can use the mythology of Princess Bari as a response to the questions of today – as a guide to release from suffering.
Corrie Hulse, The Mantle
Hwang is perhaps the most intensely compassionate writer I’ve ever encountered, telling stories of great suffering with great tenderness and without sensationalism.
Nerd Daily