han kang, the white book

And it's also one of the smartest reflections on what it means to remember those we've lost.” The narrator wanders an unnamed city, trying to see the world through the eyes of a sister she never knew. ― Han Kang, The White Book. A very unconventional narrative, but the writing is just gorgeous. Books … © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. And while I could certainly 'appreciate' what she does here, I must say the results left me rather ... cold and indifferent; even though the sad event that occasions her musings here are something I can relate to, having had a stillborn older sibling myself. The White Book. This book is something you live and feel, and all of this is created by its use of empty space. Critics' Opinion: Readers' rating: Not Yet Rated. Shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize. By Sana Mohsin. Share on facebook. The White Book by Han Kang (2016) translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith (2017) Portobello Books (2017) 161 pp. In Stock. I read this book because I recently enjoyed this author’s novel The Vegetarian. The White Book Overview Set in Warsaw and Korea, Han Kang’s novel The White Book delves into what it means to be human and how to reconcile human life’s beauty with its chaos and uncertainty. Han Kang has created a story unlike any I’ve read, but beyond being a story it is very much an exploration of the familiar things in life. Apple. Hogarth. 2019. Some of the most affecting writing comes when the narrator speaks directly to her baby sister. Han Kang Photo: Park Jaehong. Whose dark shadow reaches down through the decades and covers everything you do? This is an examination of the color white, paralleled with the story of a woman who loses her baby hours after it is born. She studied Korean literature at Yonsei University. To order The White Book for £7 (RRP £10) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. When I first read Han Kang’s modernist masterpiece, The Vegetarian, its accumulative effect was shattering. This short book is structured as a series of meditations on 'white things', from snow and white birds to the more abstract: silence; spirit; the concept of 'laughing whitely', a Korean phrase which describes forced, mirthless laughter. Reflecting on a particular white pebble, Han notes: “If silence could be condensed into the smallest, most solid object, this is how it would feel.” The dominant theme is of transience, of fleeting life and the acceptance of human fragility. “I adored Han Kang’s eerie English-language debut of denial, excess, and transformation, The Vegetarian, and I can’t wait to read her next tale, which promises to be equal parts Italo Calvino, Angela Carter, and something entirely Han Kang’s own. I read the book mostly in one sitting (it is very short) and can only recommend doing that. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. The White Book . I was delighted with the majority of more than 60 pieces, most 1-2 pages long, as wonderful play with metaphors of white. Es wird kein Kindle Gerät benötigt. What follows feels like essay, like Knausgaard with his lists of topics in his seasonal books, but with a definite female perspective. Translated seamlessly by Smith, The White Book succeeds in reflecting Han’s urgent desire to transcend pain with language. London: Portobello Books, 2017. 18 likes. She won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 for. by Hogarth Press. It is a book about mourning, rebirth and the tenacity of the human spirit. The narrator of this book doesn’t have a name in the book, although it’s no secret that this is an autobiographical work by this author and is a love letter to her long deceased older sister. Instead, it is a fragmented autobiographical meditation on the death of the unnamed narrator’s baby sister, who died two hours after her birth. At their best, the bite-sized chapters are striking and moving; at their weakest, they read like Instagram poetry. While on a writer's residency, a nameless narrator wanders the twin white worlds of the blank page and snowy Warsaw. Living in translation: from South Korea to the rest of the world . It's my favorite author Han Kang's recent Novel. 소설가 한강 Han Kang is the daughter of novelist Han Seung-won. Focused on the central theme of an infant’s death, progressing through The White Book is like chronicling the trauma. New York. I didn't connect with this one, unfortunately. The author of The Vegetarian has written a powerful autobiographical meditation on the life and death of a newborn sister, Thu 2 Nov 2017 03.30 EDT 3,9 von 5 Sternen 22. She is also the author of Human Acts (Portobello, 2016) and The White Book (Portobello, forthcoming 2017). Sometimes, at the most random of times, when I am doing something of no importance, I am reminded of Han Kang’s The … This book is a series of very short chapters consisting of meditation-like bursts of thoughts. My mother’s first child died, I was told, less than two hours into life. Not because we can claim any particular courage, but because there is no other way.”, Wellcome Book Prize Nominee for Longlist (2018), Warwick Prize for Women in Translation Nominee for Shortlist (2018), International Booker Prize Nominee (2018). English: The White Book Korean literary superstar Han Kang writes about the sister she has never met: When her mother was 22, she was living in a remote area and gave birth to a premature little girl who died after a few hours. The story of her birth, as narrated from the point of view of the mother, who is 22 when she is obliged to deliver the premature baby herself, is simply told. The White Book by Han Kang review – the fragility of life. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Skip to main content. Gwangju, South Korea, 1980. It re-imagines that baby's life in tandem with the narrator's own life who came into existence only because her older sibling did not survive. Hard to define (hence all the bookshelf tags). Han Kang's The White Book is a meditation on grief using a study of white objects in the authors life to spark memories of events she did--and did not--experience, specifically the birth and deaths of her older sister (and a quickly mentioned older brother, who also succumbed to premature birth) and their mother. 흰 | The White Book 2016, Novel. 8,49 € Deine kalten Hände: Roman Han Kang. Each moment is a leap forwards from the brink of an invisible cliff, where time's keen edges are constantly renewed. Android. The White Book by Han Kang review. This book is a series of very short chapters consisting of meditation-like bursts of thoughts. ‘The Vegetarian’.....was fierce with haunting prose making it very hard to put down. This was an impulse checkout from the public library - a woman moves to Warsaw in winter and is inspired by a sister who died before she was born to meditate on the color white. The White Book is a novel that's difficult to describe, but easy to love. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1 . But it didn’t come off as I intended. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. Sprinkled amongst the pages are some stark photographs which add to the general feeling of loneliness and loss. Start by marking “The White Book” as Want to Read: Error rating book. I found, fans of Kang and poetry or flash fiction fans. 2019. Han wisely gives as much value to the baby's heightened two hours of life as she does to her death. A snow storm in Warsaw erases the detail of its streets, yet when it falls on a black coat sleeve, it will “reveal its crystals even to the naked eye. Deborah Smith's translations from the Korean include two novels by Han Kang, The Vegetarian and Human Acts, and two by Bae Suah, A Greater Music and Recitation. Han wrote it while she was on a writer’s residency in Warsaw. But I was also drawn past delight to accommodation to dark and melancholy paths. I read the book mostly in one sitting (it is very short) and can only recommend doing that. We lift our foot from the solid ground of all our life lived thus far, and take that perilous step out into the empty air. We get little nuggets suggesting hard life during the Korean War and sources of grief like her mother’s loss of a prematurely born sibling. It's a very melancholy subject but told in a sort of muted way—like the color white. By Han Kang Translated by Deborah Smith Published by Portobello Books An unnamed narrator moves to a European city where she is haunted by the story of her older sister, who died a mere two hours after birth. Mysterious hexagons melting clean away.”. Newborn gown . I feel its genius every time I finish reading any of Kang's books in Smith's translation. “Standing at this border where land and water meet, watching the seemingly endless recurrence of the waves (though this eternity is in fact illusion: the earth will one day vanish, everything will one day vanish), the fact that our lives are no more than brief instants is felt with unequivocal clarity.”, “Each moment is a leap forwards from the brink of an invisible cliff, where time’s keen edges are constantly renewed. How do you grieve someone you never met? The book starts with a list of white items, including swaddling bands, newborn gown, snow, ice and shroud. GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19943420-sharon We lift our foot from the solid ground of … The White Book: Kang, Han: 9780525573067: Books - Amazon.ca. Buy The White Book International ed. Try Prime Hello, Sign in Account & Lists Sign in Account & Lists Returns & Orders Try Prime Cart. In a sequence of interconnected chapters… By Han Kang “ The Vegetarian ” and “ Human Acts ” introduced English-language readers to the explosive fiction of the South Korean writer Han Kang. Book Summary From Booker Prize-winner and literary phenomenon Han Kang, a lyrical and disquieting exploration of personal grief, written through the prism of the color white. Share on email. It is a pleasure to come across a white thing that is not as literal as white pills or white hair, such as the phrase, “laughing whitely”, an expression the narrator explains probably “exists only in her mother tongue”. Each section is composed of a motif, an aspect related to the event that is lyrically and masterfully crafted with poetic language and rich vocabulary. The book starts with a list of white items, including swaddling bands, newborn gown, snow, ice and shroud. London: Portobello Books, 2017. Throughout the years, the author has often thought of her sister and the grief that has never ended for her family. February 19th 2019 I really enjoyed Kang's acclaimed 'The Vegetarian', and this was so totally different in both format and style, that it came as something of a surprise. by Han Kang (ISBN: 9781846276958) from Amazon's Book Store. Like “Each moment is a leap forwards from the brink of an invisible cliff, where time’s keen edges are constantly renewed. The White Book Han Kang. Han Kang — While writing the book I tried to carefully examine Gwangju’s historical context. It is a book about mourning, rebirth and the tenacity of the human spirit. It is very difficult to describe this book! I have read The Vegetarian and Human Acts. I really enjoyed the previous two novels I read by Han Kang and was looking forward to reading this. Mirroring the narrator’s experience in the text, Kang worked on the manuscript during a writer’s residency in Warsaw. The White Book is a meditation on colour, beginning with a list of white things. I just prefer, however, her other stories to this one. This month, we're reading Han Kang's The White Book, an exploration of life and death in which each chapter focuses on a different (white) object. The White Book is a thing of beauty, unforgettable and brimming with emotion. Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith. But I was also drawn past delight to accommodation to dark and melancholy paths. The core of the story features an apparently unremarkable woman who refuses to eat meat and is therefore subjected to crazed violence by her family. ... Han Kang was born in Gwangju, South Korea, and moved to Seoul at the age of ten. Such a difficult book to describe, difficult to review. She is based in Seoul. She understands that her sister’s presence, like that pillar, is part of her history, and wonders if in writing about her death, she could give her new life. Told in a series of very short musings on different white things, Han Kang circles her own grief and Warsaw’s scarred history in a way that I found absolutely moving. Han wisely gives as much value to those heightened two hours of life as she does to her death. I often hear a song and I’m taken back to a time, to a place, to a person, to an experience that I never will be able to regain: to a moment that song embodies that will forever be lost in the endless river of life. Deborah Smith. There are chapters on salt, snow, the moon, and white birds, all of which convey Kang’s reflections on the different topics in fragments. Music is often associated with memory. Han Kang. Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith. Now shortlisted for the Man Booker International - and alongside Flights, one of the two outstanding remaining books: This comes across as a series of meditations on things that are white, written as vignettes in probing and poignant language you could call prose poetry. Quite right, too. Instead it is only a white city, white for its snow and white for its stone ruins. Told in a series of very short musings on different white things, Han Kang circles her own grief and Warsaw’s scarred history in a way that I found absolutely moving. Gebundene Ausgabe. It is a stunning investigation of the fragility, beauty and strangeness of life. Very emotional set of words which mainly covers the death of her elder sister after only two hours of life. FREE Shipping on orders over CDN$ 35. All rights reserved. Hogarth. Share on twitter . When, in the novel, she walks around a building that was once destroyed in a 1944 air raid and then rebuilt, she observes how it has been faithfully reconstructed, incorporating into its new structure an old pillar that had survived. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith. Running through these thoughts is the story of the author’s young mother whose first child died only a cou. How thrilling it was to discover the work of a major contemporary Korean writer. Using this monochromatic map, she leads us through a life, one that is filled with the weight of history, and a particular bereavement In an interview with Granta, Kang said that when writing this book, she imagined her prematurely dead sister had lived and visited the city ‘in … Han won the 2016 Man Booker International prize for The Vegetarian, along with her translator Deborah Smith. Han's debut work, A Love of Yeosu, was published in 1995 and attracted attention because it was precisely and tightly narrated. As she contemplates the child's short life she focuses on the whiteness and all it symbolises. I am quite unsure how to review this brilliant little book. If Han’s monotone is relentlessly poised and never flinches from serene dignity, perhaps it could not be written in any other way. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published Buy This Book. This memoir/reflection of sorts was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2018. Trans. She is based in Seoul. Running through these thoughts is the story of the author’s young mother whose first child died only a couple of hours after birth. This is the 3rd book I’ve read by Han Kang, a phenomenal contemporary Korean writer. The narrator is living in an unfamiliar country, where she knows little of the language, and finds herself reflecting on the brief life and death of her sister – a baby her mother delivered herself at the age of 22; a child who lived for mere moments. This is the third book I have read by Han Kang. 22,00 € Weiter. At its most engaging, the writing edges close to becoming a brilliant psychogeography of grief, moving as it does between place, history and memory. Deborah Smith's translations from the Korean include two novels by Han Kang, The Vegetarian and Human Acts, and two by Bae Suah, A Greater Music and Recitation. The collection includes wintry pieces on frost, snow, sleet, and fog, the austerity of the moon, and moonlight, the blank exuberance of white flowers and white butterflies, the apparent spiritual messages carried by white birds, the primal memories of white sugar cubes and white rice cake, the monotone of white shrouds and death residue of bones and ashes. For my woder her next novel 'The White Book' is a novel in verses. IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY. It’s been thrilling to see the recent high acclaim and popularity for Han Kang’s powerful distinctive writing. Last modified on Fri 16 Mar 2018 09.43 EDT. We lift our foot from the solid ground of all our life lived thus far, and take that perilous step out into the empty air. However, it is quite a different style than her more traditional novels. The White Book. The narrator, reflecting back from elderly years, is sharing how she comes to terms with many sources of suffering through the power of language. It is a series of short meditations/poetry themed around the colour white, with a thread of grief running through. I loved it. In 2015 Deborah completed a PhD at SOAS on contemporary Korean literature and founded Tilted Axis Press. But do we need to? Han Kang wrote it whilst living in Warsaw, though in the book the city is never named explicitly. Kang has created a beautifully meditative exploration of grief from a distance. I think it is something that needs to be experienced rather than read about. The White Book, Han Kang, Deborah Smith (trans) (Portobello Books, November 2017) As the story develops, the narrator’s incantatory invocation of white objects—salt, snow, moon, ice, rice, waves, white hair, a white dog—gradually envelops the reader like the creeping Warsaw fog that slowly rubs away the borders between sky and earth. New York. 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