Sometimes rueful, sometimes poignant, sometimes grittily realist, Ha Seong-nan’s collection primarily deals in atmosphere, emotion and loss, frequently spurred on by a fast-changing Korea. Early entries “Daydreams of a River” - partly inspired by Lorca’s poem - are a reminder of why Ha’s work has invited comparisons to writers Alice Munro, here mixed with more than a dash of Raymond Carver. In Ha’s title piece, a woman’s thoughts move backwards and forwards in time, as she reflects on her past and an unly act of defiance in the face of almost-certain defeat. In “1984” a woman remembers the events of the year she left school comparing her reality, coming of age in a working-class area of Seoul, with Orwell’s dystopian vision. Nostalgia, upheaval and the ravages of rapid, urban development are central to the striking “House of Wafers” centred on a woman returning to her childhood home after ten years away. Stories “Deathbed” and “Daytime to Daytime” deal in experiences of aging and grief. “That’s Life” set in a travelling circus and “Autobiography” - which features an unexpected act of stunning brutality - are harsher in their themes and tone, and felt more uneven than other stories. But Ha is consistently adept at conveying the minutiae of everyday life, place is always significant and settings are meticulously rendered: sights, sounds, smells all precisely documented. She’s often tender, compassionate towards her flailing characters. Many are individuals overwhelmed by a culture in flux; women are ground down by existence in a male-dominated society; men are often exposed as uneasy in their assigned roles and weighed down by a sense of confusion or failure. Translated by Janet Hong.

Thanks to Edelweiss and publisher Open Letter Books for an ARCcontemporary-fiction edelweiss-plus-arc korea-fiction-culture-history ...more30 s1 comment emily488 363

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