The Law of Lines by Korean author Hye-young Pyun is a psychological novel set in Seoul. The story slowly unwinds until you’re left with a complete understanding of what happened and why.
The Law of Lines synopsis
Winner of several of Korea’s top literary awards, The Law of Lines follows the parallel stories of two young women whose lives are upended by sudden loss. When Se-oh, a recluse still living with her father, returns from an errand to find their house in flames, wrecked by a gas explosion, she is forced back into the world she had tried to escape. The detective investigating the incident tells her that her father caused the explosion to kill himself because of overwhelming debt she knew nothing about, but Se-oh suspects foul play by an aggressive debt collector and sets out on her own investigation, seeking vengeance.
Ki-jeong, a beleaguered high school teacher, receives a phone call that the body of her younger half-sister has just been found. Her sister was a college student she had grown distant from. Though her death, by drowning, is considered a suicide by the police, that doesn’t satisfy Ki-jeong, and she goes to her sister’s university to find out what happened. Her sister’s cell phone reveals a thicket of lies and links to a company that lures students into a virtual pyramid scheme, preying on them and their relationships. One of the contacts in the call log is Se-oh.
Book review
“What isn’t great about people? Those who say people are the scariest thing in the world only think that way because they themselves do scary things. But people are good. They can talk. And they can listen. They talk to you. They work for you. They bring you your groceries. They’re warm to the touch. And soft and smooth…”
The quiet people are the scariest. But still, as Su-ho’s mother says: people are the best thing in the world. So what can top a psychological novel about people?
You will slowly find out why Se-oh and the other characters came to be the way they are. None of them were born like this, but their situations made them like this. You start to understand them as you ponder about the things that happen to them in Seoul. Hye-young Pyun shows the impact that certain events can have on the course of your life: your support net and the way you deal with these situations can make or break you.
Both main characters struggle with their own independent identities. On top of that Se-oh also has trouble distinguishing between imagination and real events. There are frequent flashbacks within scenes, but they are very sudden and can confuse/annoy the reader. They do show you how both Se-oh and Ki-jeong slowly become obsessed after losing someone they didn’t know very well to begin with. But as long as they keep searching they can delay the goodbye… while losing control over what’s left of their lives.
Somewhere along the line, Ki-jeong’s story was ‘dropped’, unfortunately. The beginning and ending of The Law of Lines were good, but the middle wasn’t very interesting with all the new characters and viewpoints that were being introduced. While I liked the ending, I felt like I missed out on the intriguing way I hoped the two storylines would get together. Except right after the most important meeting of the book the two storylines split again as if the meeting never happened.
If you see this book as a road to understanding people and the impact of situations, then you’re in for a treat. Every person’s motive is slowly laid bare for the reader to see. Don’t read this one for the plot though: it’s not an exciting read. Three stars for the whole book, but four to five stars for the last 30 pages!
Translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell.
Interested?
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