Expert idiomatic translation renders visible a story that helps explain thepresent weirdness in North Korea . . . The story with its great insight intothe regio... » 

Expert idiomatic translation renders visible a story that helps explain thepresent weirdness in North Korea . . . The story with its great insight intothe region is deeply rewarding.Kirkus Reviews Vivid snapshots from theKorean War and surreal encounters with ghosts intersect in the first major USrelease by awardwinning Korean novelist Sokyong . . . an ambitiousexploration of a postwar survivors chaotic psyche.Publishers Weekly Aprovocative novel . . . with a subtle power. Hwang takes the reader to theedge of a gruesome scene then steps back and focuses on the sort of mundanedetail that sticks in ones mind more firmly than any bloodsplattered image.TIMEAsia Magazine During the Korean War Hwanghae Province in North Koreawas the setting of a gruesome fiftytwoday massacre. In an act of collectiveamnesia the atrocities were attributed to American military but in truth theyresulted from strife between Christian and Communist neighbors. Forty yearslater Ryu Yosop a minister living in America returns to his home villagewhere his older brother once played a notorious role in the bloodshed. Besiegedby vivid memories and visited by the troubled spirits of the deceased Yosopmust face the survivors of the tragedy and lay his brothers soul to rest. «