Human Acts

beautifully written & unflinchingly raw. one of my favorite reads ever; human acts is the paragon of non-linear narratives & changing perspectives. the differing narration styles (first/second/third person) & the change in structure really highlights the "mystery" element of this novel. "mystery" in the sense that the reader is trying to get the full picture of dong-ho's life&death, but also the different people of gwangju and the full, long-term effects state violence had on the country & city.

no character is wasted. the tight, small (named) cast makes each moment more heartwrenching; each character is given their ending and has their story told.

han kang's writing isn't for everyone, but i found her style remarkable! i really enjoy her esoteric vernacular. credit where credit is due, i think deborah smith's translation of human acts will be much more pleasing to critics of the vegetarian. one of my personal gripes with the eng version of the vegetarian (though i'd like to think i'm a bit more forgiving than the average article writer) was that its differing tone in english. i felt as if kang's writing (in korean) is extremely vivid & grounding, which makes her more fantastical writing topics (such as about the soul re: human acts & dreams re: the vegetarian) have much more of an impact. smith really nailed the grittiness of kang's style in human acts & i feel as if the kor & eng versions read more or less the same !

just a really spectacular book detailing an important part of rok's history written beautifully. i have read no one more deserving of the nobel prize.