This was another heavy, stirring read from acclaimed South Korean writer, Han Kang. Written in her inimitable poetic prose (reminiscent of The White Book and The Vegetarian), the story recounts the Gwanju Massacre which took place in South Korea in May 1980, following the coup by General Chun Doo-hwan. The sheer savagery and violence that the South Korean army exacted on its own citizens is astounding and absurd. Kang meticulously shares the tragic stories of a spectrum of the victims, not shying away from the gory details and unpleasantries.
Human Acts is not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination and perhaps is unsuitable for those who are triggered by sexual and physical violence. The story without a doubt takes a heavy emotional toll on the reader, and indubitably Kang must have paid an immeasurable personal price to tell this tale. At times I found myself needing to take a pause when reading Human Acts since I felt overwhelmed by the vivid descriptions of unadulterated violence.
My reason for giving this book 4 stars is that, despite being beautifully written, I found that at times the story was jarring. The perspective changes from the present to the past to a different person very suddenly. This discontinuity made the storyline at times hard to follow (at least in the English translation that I read). In spite of this, I highly recommend Human Acts to anyone who has the mental wherewithal and fortitude to handle such a story. I would venture to say that this is probably the heaviest book that I’ve read since The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
Thank you as always for stopping by! Please feel free to share your thoughts or reactions in a comment below. Also, if you would like to receive more updates about my writing please consider joining my newsletter mailing list by subscribing below.