Ha Seong-nan Archives - Where to Kim? https://wheretokim.com/tag/ha-seong-nan/ From curiosity to inspiration to action Wed, 16 Dec 2020 15:08:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://wheretokim.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/cropped-Wheretokim-logo-1-32x32.jpg Ha Seong-nan Archives - Where to Kim? https://wheretokim.com/tag/ha-seong-nan/ 32 32 Review: Bluebeard’s First Wife by Ha Seong-nan https://wheretokim.com/review-bluebeards-first-wife-ha-seong-nan/ https://wheretokim.com/review-bluebeards-first-wife-ha-seong-nan/#respond Mon, 10 Aug 2020 14:00:00 +0000 https://wheretokim.com/?p=5825 If you’re looking for stories that make you question everything you read, then read Bluebeard’s First Wife by Korean author Ha Seong-nan.

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If you’re looking for stories that keep you on your toes, that make you question everything you read and wonder whether you grasp the ‘real’ story, then read Bluebeard’s First Wife by Korean author Ha Seong-nan.

Bluebeard's First Wife synopsis

Disasters, accidents, and deaths abound in Bluebeard’s First Wife. A woman spends a night with her fiancé and his friends, and overhears a terrible secret that has bound them together since high school. A man grows increasingly agitated by the apartment noise made by a young family living upstairs and arouses the suspicion of his own wife when the neighbors meet a string of unlucky incidents. A couple moves into a picture-perfect country house, but when their new dog is stolen, they become obsessed with finding the thief, and in the process, neglect their child. Ha’s paranoia-inducing, heart-quickening stories will have you reconsidering your own neighbors.

Book review

4/5

With short stories, you never know what the stories will be about before you start reading. But having read another short story collection by Ha Seong-nan, Flowers of Mold, I started reading with some expectations.

The first story in this collection, The Star-Shaped Stain, immediately sets the tone: sorrowful with modest hope. It’s impressive how you can get a sense of foreboding from the very first page of a story, but Ha Seong-nan manages it with nearly every story in Bluebeard’s First Wife. That shows good writing skills. 

The stories in this collection are less indirect and spiritual and more mundane than those in Flowers of Mold. So you can imagine my surprise when I started Flies. I will forever believe there is more to this story, that there is this different story beneath the surface, just beyond my grasp. I would have loved to know more about the background of the police officer so that I could understand his reaction to the situation better. Whereas Flies kickstarted my imagination, Night Poaching, a story with a similar setting, turned out to be less interesting.

Most of the stories are about not knowing someone you live with and, as a result, growing apart. The main characters find out about a missing piece of information halfway or at the end of the story. That’s what all the stories have in common: the main characters, often the wives, learn something new that changes the way they see things, but seeing no solution, they just go with the flow. The reader can see a solution though, but that is usually when the stories end. You don’t really know what happens after, which is fine: you’re reading a snapshot of someone’s life.

You follow the daily struggles of ordinary people who find themselves in situations they don’t want to be in, hoping it isn’t true. Suspicions are everywhere. And in retrospect, the main characters realize things. And right when I thought no one was ever gonna act on anything, A Quiet Night happened. Together with Pinky Finger, it provided the much-needed action, or rather, activity. These two and Flies were my favorite stories in Bluebeard’s First Wife. 

After reading two short story collections by Ha Seong-nan, I can without a doubt say that she writes very good stories. If you’re looking for stories that keep you on your toes, that make you question everything you read and wonder whether you grasp the ‘real’ story, then read Bluebeard’s First Wife or Flowers of Mold.

Translated from Korean by Janet Hong.

Interested?

Get your copy of Bluebeard’s First Wife from Amazon.

Korean book - Ha Seong-nan - Bluebeard's First Wife

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]]> https://wheretokim.com/review-bluebeards-first-wife-ha-seong-nan/feed/ 0 Review: Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-nan https://wheretokim.com/flowers-of-mold-ha-seong-nan/ https://wheretokim.com/flowers-of-mold-ha-seong-nan/#respond Mon, 16 Dec 2019 15:00:00 +0000 https://wheretokim.com/?p=1455 The stories in Flowers of Mold by Korean author Ha Seong-nan challenge you to understand them and to grasp their underlying meaning.

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The stories in Flowers of Mold by Korean author Ha Seong-nan challenge you to understand them and to grasp their underlying meaning.

Location: most of the stories are set in Seoul, South Korea

Flowers of Mold Synopsis

Praised for her meticulous descriptions and ability to transform the mundanity of everyday life into something strange and unexpected, Ha Seong-nan bursts into the English literary scene with this stunning collection that confirms Korea’s place at the forefront of contemporary women’s writing. From the title story told by a woman suffering from gaps in her memory, to one about a man seeking insight in bags of garbage, to a surreal story about a car salesman and the customer he tries to seduce, The Woman Next Door charms and provokes with an incomparable style.

Book review

4/5

If you ask me about this book in a few years I will probably say rearview mirrors showing a different reality, broken glass, billboard models, getting to know a person by studying garbage and vomit, and flying. Those were the returning tropes for me in the ten stories in Flowers of Mold.

Take everyday life and throw in something unexpected and see how they react, what old traumas resurface and if they can stay in touch with reality. To them the change of fate is normal everyday life, for the reader, it is a short laugh “of course something like that happens”. It is believable, yet after a few stories, you’re waiting for something to happen and are looking for the returning tropes mentioned above.

My favorite stories were Nightmare and The woman next door. Both stories deal with the thin line between reality and dream in such a way that the main character starts to doubt her grip of reality. Which memories are real and which aren’t? This also plays a role in other stories where the rearview mirror or cracked glass shows a different reality from the one the main character perceives as real. 

Even though I didn’t find every story as interesting, I would still recommend this short story collection because the stories challenge you to understand them and to grasp their underlying meaning. 

More about the stories

1) Waxen wings

A story all about wanting to fly, to rise up like Icarus. The symbolism is strong in this one but the characters felt a bit detached. A special mention for the last sentence of this story though. The story takes place in Seoul and mentions Changgyeong and Changdeok Palace.

2) Nightmare

Interesting order that might not be chronological. Is it a dream or reality? This story takes place at a farm a few hours from Seoul.

3) The retreat

A bit boring, but it resembles everyday struggles about making a living. One of the characters owns a fried chicken franchise (Good Chicken) and the main character inherited a study hall or academy. At the end of the story, they go to a retreat on a deserted island an hour up the Bukhan river from Nami Island.

4) The woman next door

Again about doubting your own memory and version of reality.

5) Flag

This story starts high on a pole. Together with the main character we read a dead man’s diary about his work at a car dealership in Seoul and his meetings with the Billboard model. It is about a dream that feels real, about shedding your skin but also about failing at something you work hard for.

6) Your rearview mirror

Luckily enough this trope gets its own story named after it. While driving in the bus the rearview mirror cracks after an accident and shows a new truth. This story takes place at a shopping center in Myeongdong and we also follow the characters on a walk from Hannam and Yongsan Station to Itaewon.

7) Flowers of mold

The story this book was named after but not my favorite story. It is about obsession and about using garbage collection to get to know a person.

8) Toothpaste

About being traumatized by things from the past. The billboard model makes her return. The character lives in an apartment in Incheon just outside Seoul.

9) Early beans

Can you avoid problems by staying at home? How about lightning? We follow the main character on his delivery trip to Incheon.

10) Onion

The billboard got replaced but a car accident from a previous story makes its return. One of the characters is a chef specialized in fish and talks about restaurants and fish markets (like Noryangjin Fish Market). In the end, he accepts a job at South Korea’s east coast in the Gangneung area.

Translated from Korean by Janet Hong.

Interested?

You can get your copy of Flowers of Mold from Amazon.

Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-nan - Korean book

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