Reviews
Han Kang is one of the authors who clearly demonstrates the importance of both great mastery of your craft and a focus on a substantial matter to examine and to place at the centre of your work. On one hand, this is a novel about two women and their friendship, on another - a story about a historic monstrosity; and the two are woven into each other in a way that is not detrimental to one or the other but that creates a stronger whole. Han Kang excels, as she always has, to bring great injustices to light in an impactful manner all because she does not forget the humanity and personhood of their victims.
Highlights
It can be dificult to distinguish for- bearance from resignation, sorrow from partial reconciliation, fortitude from loneliness. I thought about how difficult it can be to tell these emotions apart on the basis of facial expressions and gestures, about how the person in question may struggle to distinguish these feelings in themselves
I slipped on a pair of trainers and opened the front door for the first time in two months. The summer sun flooded the west-facing corridor; the afternoon light was a revelation.