Name: Still Life With Rice
ISBN: 9780684827117

Helie Lee

As told by her granddaughter, the biography of a Korean woman born in 1912 into a socially repressive, male-dominated society, describes her struggles to overcome the pains of war, loss, and discrimination

A Young American Woman Discovers the Life and Legacy of Her Korean Grandmother

Still Life With Rice

Monica

The author is Korean-American. Searching for her identity she finds out about the story of the grandmother, Hongyong Baek. This novels shows very well how Korean culture was before the outbreak of the Korean War, and how it starts to change with the influence of Western cultures. The story starts with the birth of Hongyong, showing then how she and her family are exiled in China, the hardships of the Korean War, and how they finally end up in the United States. At that time, concubinage was common at that time, and Hongyong is forced into the black market and bribery in order to provide for her family. I think it is not a novel suitable for all audiences, not so much for what I have mentioned before -which I think is general culture- but because of some passages that are way too descriptive. Eventually, Hongyong changes her life completely acknowledging her wrongdoings and starts devoting herself to taking care of others. 

All in all, I think it is a good novel to understand about Korean culture and life.

Still Life With Rice A Young American Woman Discovers the Life and Legacy of Her Korean Grandmother

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