⇒ [PDF] The Calligrapher Daughter A Novel Eugenia Kim 9780805092264 Books

The Calligrapher Daughter A Novel Eugenia Kim 9780805092264 Books

Download As PDF : The Calligrapher Daughter A Novel Eugenia Kim 9780805092264 Books

The Calligrapher Daughter A Novel Eugenia Kim 9780805092264 Books

This is one of the finest novels I've ever read, and I've been a steady reader since childhood. I'm also a published writer. I bought it in a remainders' bookshop--and I'd like to know why it isn't winning literary prizes when so much hack trash goes into the best seller lists!

A reviewer wrote that it's "sentimental"! WRONG. It's about as unsentimental as a sensitive story could be. It's the blunt tale of a courageous family, most particularly of their sensitive, intelligent daughter, growing up in oppressed Korea, which was occupied by the Japanese in 1910, the year of her birth. She was never given a name by her rigidly Confucian father. Since her "unofficial" name, Najin, adds to the suspense and drama that permeate this novel, I'll say only that as a personal name it is unconventional. But Najin herself is unconventional even as a child--as close to a tomboy as an aristocratic Korean girl could have been in that time, resulting in loving understanding from her mother, and the scorn of her father, Han.

Han is not an evil man. He is brave, daring to plot and rebel against the Japanese and suffer the reprisals, an artistic calligrapher, a scholar, and there are many indications that he loves his wife, but he is a Confucian nobleman, although nominally born into a wealthy family converted to Protestantism. His narrow gender-stratified rules remain Confucian and male-domineering, with only a small place for his only daughter even after he loosens some of his rigid rules. Han lavishes his affection on his art, Korean culture and his only son, Ilsun, born nine years after Najin, and who learns from his own weaknesses. As a prideful aristocrat Han feels the brunt of starvation, police attacks, prison, ransackings, torture, ejection from their 500-year-old home, and other terrors visited on the family and all of Korea, until the end of World War II (the novel spans 1915 to 1945). At the novel's start the mother, of the same aristocratic class, seems passively obedient, enjoining Najin to obey her father, but secretly encourages her to continue her education and exploration of the world. In many ways the strong bond between Najin and her mother--always known in the story by the daughter's honorific, Umma-nim--is the heart of this novel. The mother's stoic, quietly courageous fidelity and endurance provide the family's deep strength. This is not sentimental, but can be documented time and again in the stories of oppressed families from ancient times to modern African Americans.

Najin's life narrows to the struggle for survival when in 1934 she is unable to accompany her Korean husband to America. After only one day of marriage, her life with a young seminarian with the Christian name of Calvin Cho is sundered for years, during which her own commitment to Christianity grows thin, she is imprisoned by the Japanese, but her spirit is liberated and not crushed. This is one of the most hopefully feminist novels I've ever read.

In a coda, there is a reunion of the couple after the war, and as much of a reconciliation as possible--we know it wasn't easy. You can read Eugenia Kim's brief autobiographical note to learn that most of this story was based on reality. Here is my summary. This novel, as I said, is feminist and also a passionate plea for justice and democracy. It is often vividly and descriptively brutal but the language has a sensibility of beauty which never fails. There is profound wisdom in the book, particularly in the mother's lessons to her daughter, always rooted in reality. Since my daughter-in-law came to this country from Seoul, Korea in the mid 1990s, I am struck by the many coincidences in her own life, and in mine, which are reflected in this fine book. They shall remain private in this review, but Eugenia Kim has the gift of conveying the human experience in a semi-biographical story of a family that, like so many immigrant families, might have died but had the strength and fiber to survive. These are the people our nation needs, and why our immigrants--especially those who are locked out and must struggle to get here--have always furnished so many outstanding citizens. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Tags : The Calligrapher's Daughter: A Novel [Eugenia Kim] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b> A beautiful, deliberate and satisfying story spanning 30 years of Korean history . . . Elegant. ― Publishers Weekly</i> (starred review)</b> In early-twentieth-century Korea,Eugenia Kim,The Calligrapher's Daughter: A Novel,St. Martin's Griffin,0805092269,FIC019000,Literary,Bildungsromans.,Korea;Fiction.,American Historical Fiction,Bildungsromans,FICTION Historical General,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction Literary,Historical - General,Korea

The Calligrapher Daughter A Novel Eugenia Kim 9780805092264 Books Reviews

I had great hopes for this book, and really wanted to like it. But sadly I didn't. It had a great premise but the author left me wanting more. What were Najiin's feelings when her father arranged her marriage when she was fourteen? The interaction between her mother and father during this time was compelling, but the author quickly ended that episode, with not a word from Najiin. The same could be said for the time in her life when she went to live with her new in-laws. We knew it was horrible, but the author just skimmed over this area and moved on without making me feel any kind of sympathy. I could go on.....

All and all, it was a fairly good historical fiction novel, but it just didn't grab me and was tied up just a little to neatly at the end for my tastes. Maybe a sequel is in the works?
My mother grew up in the far north of Korea at the same time, but in the western corner as opposed to the eastern part where this main character lives, likely only 75 miles apart. As a daughter of missionaries, my mother was likely more safe. But reading Najin's story, the political turmoil of the country (long before it was noticed in the West), was heart-rending for me. It hit close to home. This is a powerful story of faith, of love, of changing times as well as political and cultural upheaval. It stands for all Korean women of that time and many years to come. Najin's story should not be missed.

Personally, I would like to thank Ms Kim for her beautiful writing as well as better insight into the Korea in which my mother was born and raised.
This is such a rich and beautiful story that covers everything. It's a story about a mother's love, a filial daughter, a country in turmoil and best of all love. Not just a love between a man and a woman, but also love of country. I have learned a lot about Korea thru this book and was encouraged to learn more when I was finished.
I recommend LOTS of tissues...you'll need them!
(3.5 starts) There is a lot to like and enjoy about this debut novel, especially for those who love historical fiction. The backdrop is Korea in the early 1900's during the difficult period of Japanese occupation. The daughter of Korean immigrant parents, the authors draws on the personal experiences of her parents, adding a richness and sense of reality to the story. She captures the strife and unrest of the Korean people's resistance to the invasion and also their fierce patriotism as they fight to preserve their identity and culture. It's a wonderful coming of age story that follows the journey of Najin, the daughter of a very traditional upper class Korean man, a calligrapher by trade and a strict patriarch at heart. She is a beautiful mix of strength and flexibility as she struggles to understand her father's disappointment in her and why at birth he refuses to name her. She wants and seeks his approval but forges her own path in life. She pursues her passions intensely but quietly, drawing her sense of worth from her mother. Their strong bond is heartwarming and real. The one serious drawback to this book is the pace. It is long winded and very slow; meant for the patient reader or the historical fiction aficionado
Najin, the daughter of a learned scholar, attempts to mix her father's Confucian beliefs with her mother's Christian beliefs. The story is inspired by the life of the author's mother. Despite the hardships Najin suffers throughout her life, she continues to fight and does succeed in making something of herself.

This book was a terrific and interesting read as it provided insight into the Korean mindset during that period of history. Najin's father was stuck in the old ways, but gradually realized some things and attitudes needed to change.

This book would be considered historical fiction and what a wonderful read it was. I didn't want to put it down. Eugenia Kim is a new author from whom I hope to see many more literary works.
This is one of the finest novels I've ever read, and I've been a steady reader since childhood. I'm also a published writer. I bought it in a remainders' bookshop--and I'd like to know why it isn't winning literary prizes when so much hack trash goes into the best seller lists!

A reviewer wrote that it's "sentimental"! WRONG. It's about as unsentimental as a sensitive story could be. It's the blunt tale of a courageous family, most particularly of their sensitive, intelligent daughter, growing up in oppressed Korea, which was occupied by the Japanese in 1910, the year of her birth. She was never given a name by her rigidly Confucian father. Since her "unofficial" name, Najin, adds to the suspense and drama that permeate this novel, I'll say only that as a personal name it is unconventional. But Najin herself is unconventional even as a child--as close to a tomboy as an aristocratic Korean girl could have been in that time, resulting in loving understanding from her mother, and the scorn of her father, Han.

Han is not an evil man. He is brave, daring to plot and rebel against the Japanese and suffer the reprisals, an artistic calligrapher, a scholar, and there are many indications that he loves his wife, but he is a Confucian nobleman, although nominally born into a wealthy family converted to Protestantism. His narrow gender-stratified rules remain Confucian and male-domineering, with only a small place for his only daughter even after he loosens some of his rigid rules. Han lavishes his affection on his art, Korean culture and his only son, Ilsun, born nine years after Najin, and who learns from his own weaknesses. As a prideful aristocrat Han feels the brunt of starvation, police attacks, prison, ransackings, torture, ejection from their 500-year-old home, and other terrors visited on the family and all of Korea, until the end of World War II (the novel spans 1915 to 1945). At the novel's start the mother, of the same aristocratic class, seems passively obedient, enjoining Najin to obey her father, but secretly encourages her to continue her education and exploration of the world. In many ways the strong bond between Najin and her mother--always known in the story by the daughter's honorific, Umma-nim--is the heart of this novel. The mother's stoic, quietly courageous fidelity and endurance provide the family's deep strength. This is not sentimental, but can be documented time and again in the stories of oppressed families from ancient times to modern African Americans.

Najin's life narrows to the struggle for survival when in 1934 she is unable to accompany her Korean husband to America. After only one day of marriage, her life with a young seminarian with the Christian name of Calvin Cho is sundered for years, during which her own commitment to Christianity grows thin, she is imprisoned by the Japanese, but her spirit is liberated and not crushed. This is one of the most hopefully feminist novels I've ever read.

In a coda, there is a reunion of the couple after the war, and as much of a reconciliation as possible--we know it wasn't easy. You can read Eugenia Kim's brief autobiographical note to learn that most of this story was based on reality. Here is my summary. This novel, as I said, is feminist and also a passionate plea for justice and democracy. It is often vividly and descriptively brutal but the language has a sensibility of beauty which never fails. There is profound wisdom in the book, particularly in the mother's lessons to her daughter, always rooted in reality. Since my daughter-in-law came to this country from Seoul, Korea in the mid 1990s, I am struck by the many coincidences in her own life, and in mine, which are reflected in this fine book. They shall remain private in this review, but Eugenia Kim has the gift of conveying the human experience in a semi-biographical story of a family that, like so many immigrant families, might have died but had the strength and fiber to survive. These are the people our nation needs, and why our immigrants--especially those who are locked out and must struggle to get here--have always furnished so many outstanding citizens. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!