Han Kang Books

Compulsively readable, universally relevant and deeply resonant... It lacerates, it haunts, it dreams, it mourns... 'Human Acts' is, in equal parts, beautiful and urgent.-New York Times Book Review Human Acts is unique in the intensity and scale of this brutality... [T]he novel details a bloody history that was deliberately forgotten and is only now being recovered.-The Nation [Han Kang's] new novel, Human Acts, showcases the same talent for writing about corporeal horrors, this time in the context of the 1980 Gwangju uprising.-TIME Magazine Han Kang's Human Acts speak the unspeakable. -Vanity Fair The long wake of the killings plays out across the testimonies of survivors as well as the dead, in scenarios both gorily real and beautifully surreal.-Vulture Human Acts is stunning. Book reviews evaluate how well a book does what it sets out to do, and so we sometimes write nice things about books that perfectly fulfill trivial aims. Otherwise, we'd always be complaining that romance novels or political thrillers fail to justify the ways of God to men. But Han Kang has an ambition as large as Milton's struggle with God: She wants to reconcile the ways of humanity to itself.-NPR.org Engrossing... The result is torturously compelling, a relentless portrait of death and agony that never lets you look away. Han's prose-as translated by Deborah Smith-is both spare and dreamy, full of haunting images and echoing language. She mesmerizes, drawing you into the horrors of Gwangju; questioning humanity, implicating everyone... Unnerving and painfully immediate.-Los Angeles Times Revelatory ... nothing short of breathtaking... In the end, what Han has re- created is not just an extraordinary record of human suffering during one particularly contentious period in Korean history, but also a written testament to our willingness to risk discomfort, capture, even death in order to fight for a cause or help others in times of need.-San Francisco Chronicle But where Kang excels is in her unflinching, unsentimental descriptions of death. I am hard pressed to think of another novel that deals so vividly and convincingly with the stages of physical decay. Kang's prose does not make for easy reading, but there is something admirable about this clear-eyed rendering of the end of life.-Boston Globe Absorbing... Han uses her talents as a storyteller of subtlety and power to bring this struggle out of the middle distance of 'history' and into the intimate space of the irreplaceable human individual.-Minneapolis Star-Tribune Kang explores the sprawling trauma of political brutality with impressive nuance and the piercing emotional truth that comes with masterful fiction... a fiercely written, deeply upsetting, and beautifully human novel.-Kirkus Reviews Kang is an incredible storyteller who raises questions about the purpose of humanity and the constant tension between good and evil through the heartbreaking experiences of her characters. Her poetic language shifts fluidly from different points of view, while her fearless use of raw, austere diction emulates the harsh conflicts and emotions raging throughout the plot. This jarring portrayal of the Gwangju demonstrations will keep readers gripped until the end.-Booklist (starred) With Han Kang's The Vegetarian awarded the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, her follow-up will garner extra scrutiny. Bottom line? This new work, again seamlessly translated by Deborah Smith, who also provides an indispensable contextual introduction, is even more stupendous.-Library Journal (starred) Pristine, expertly paced, and gut-wrenching... Human Acts grapples with the fallout of a massacre and questions what humans are willing to die for and in turn what they must live through. Kang approaches these difficult and inexorable queries with originality and fearlessness, making Human Acts a must-read for 2017.-Chicago Review of Books Though her subject matt

Sixty-five short interconnected chapters portray humanity and all its suffering and resiliency.

The journey of Kyungha unfolds as she rushes to help her hospitalized friend Inseon, whose pet bird is left in peril. Battling a snowstorm on Jeju Island, Kyungha confronts not only the physical challenges of her trek but also the haunting history of a tragic massacre that affected Inseon's family. This novel intricately weaves themes of friendship, memory, and the importance of acknowledging the past, transforming a personal story into a broader reflection on trauma and resilience.

Winner of the Man Booker International Prize 2016. A beautiful, unsettling novel in three acts, about rebellion and taboo, violence and eroticism, and the twisting metamorphosis of a soul

A powerful novel exploring the saving grace of language and human connection unfolds in a Seoul classroom, where a young woman observes her Greek language teacher at the blackboard. Struggling to speak, she has lost her voice, while he faces the gradual loss of his sight. As they connect, they uncover deeper shared pain: she has recently lost her mother and the custody of her nine-year-old son, while he grapples with the challenges of growing up between Korea and Germany, torn between cultures and languages. Their story reveals the intersection of their private anguishes—the fading light of a man losing his vision and the silence of a woman who has lost her language. Yet, these very struggles draw them closer, leading to a profound sense of unity. Their voices blend in startling beauty as they journey from darkness to light, from silence to expression. This narrative serves as a tender love letter to human intimacy and connection, awakening the senses and vividly capturing the essence of being alive. The novel has garnered praise for its sensual and provocative imagery, with critics highlighting its extraordinary experience and poetic yet matter-of-fact prose, making it a captivating exploration of nature and the human condition.

In a classroom in Seoul, a young woman watches her Greek language teacher at the blackboard. She tries to speak but has lost her voice. Her teacher finds himself drawn to the silent woman, for day by day he is losing his sight. Soon they discover a deeper pain binds them together. For her, in the space of just a few months, she has lost both her mother and the custody battle for her nine-year-old son. For him, it's the pain of growing up between Korea and Germany, being torn between two cultures and languages. Greek Lessons tells the story of two ordinary people brought together at a moment of private anguish - the fading light of a man losing his vision meeting the silence of a woman who has lost her language. Yet these are the very things that draw them to one another. Slowly the two discover a profound sense of unity - their voices intersecting with startling beauty, as they move from darkness to light, from silence to expression. Greek Lessons is a tender love letter to human intimacy and connection, a novel to awaken the senses, vividly conjuring the essence of what it means to be alive. Translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won.

Nobelpreis für Literatur 2024 Der neue große Roman von Han Kang »Unmöglicher Abschied« erzählt die Geschichte einer Freundschaft zwischen zwei Frauen und beleuchtet zugleich ein jahrzehntelang verschwiegenes Kapitel koreanischer Geschichte. Eines Morgens ruft Inseon ihre Freundin Gyeongha zu sich ins Krankenhaus von Seoul. Sie hatte einen Unfall und bittet Gyeongha, ihr Zuhause auf der Insel Jeju aufzusuchen, weil ihr kleiner weißer Vogel sterben wird, wenn ihn niemand füttert. Als Gyeongha auf der Insel ankommt, bricht ein Schneesturm herein. Der Weg zu Inseons Haus wird zu einem Überlebenskampf gegen die Kälte, die mit jedem Schritt mehr in sie eindringt. Noch ahnt sie nicht, was sie dort erwartet: die verschüttete Geschichte von Inseons Familie, die eng verbunden ist mit einem lang verdrängten Kapitel koreanischer Geschichte. Han Kangs neuer Roman ist eine Hymne an die Freundschaft und das Erinnern, die Geschichte einer tiefen Liebe im Angesicht unsäglicher Gewalt – und eine Feier des Lebens, wie zerbrechlich es auch sein mag.

Nobelpreis für Literatur 2024 Von der Autorin des internationalen Bestsellers »Die Vegetarierin« Ein großer Roman über die Einsamkeit der menschlichen Existenz. Eines Tages verschwindet der Bildhauer Jang Unhyong beinahe spurlos. Er hinterlässt seine faszinierenden Gipsabdrücke von Händen und Körpern – und ein bewegendes Tagebuch, das seine lebenslange Suche nach Nähe und Wahrhaftigkeit in einer Welt voller Masken schildert. »Han Kang erzählt zugleich mit großer Brutalität und großer Poesie – eine Mischung, die nur wenigen Schriftstellern gelingt.« stern »Man kann sich dieser Stimme nicht entziehen.« Independent

Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye's decision to embrace a more “plant-like” existence is a shocking act of subversion. And as her passive rebellion manifests in ever more extreme and frightening forms, scandal, abuse, and estrangement begin to send Yeong-hye spiraling deep into the spaces of her fantasy. In a complete metamorphosis of both mind and body, her now dangerous endeavor will take Yeong-hye—impossibly, ecstatically, tragically—far from her once-known self altogether.

Románová novinka nositelky Nobelovy ceny za literaturu Han Kang se podobně jako její próza Kde kvete tráva zabývá skutečnými historickými událostmi. Tentokrát se vrací až k počátkům Korejské republiky, k masakrům, které se odehrály za vlády prvního prezidenta I Sungmana – ke krvavému potlačení povstání na ostrově Čedžu. Mladémuspisovateli Kjonghaovi jednoho zimního dne zavolá kamarádka Inson, která se ocitla v nemocnici v Soulu. Poprosí ho, aby zajel do jejího rodného domu na ostrov Čedžu a postaral se tam o papouška. Když se Kjongha navzdory silné sněhové bouři dostane do horské vesnice, odhalí tam bolestnou historii Insoniny rodiny poznamenané Čedžuským povstáním. Děj se vrací zpět v čase prostřednictvím vzpomínek, záznamů a dalších materiálů, které po celý život shromažďovala Insonina matka v marném pátrání po svém zmizelém bratrovi.