A review by sebby_reads
The White Book by Han Kang

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The White Book, originally written in Korean by novelist Han Kang, is a story of loss and grief told in very aesthetic proses. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2018.
The writer bares all about the loss of her sister who died only after a few hours old. She has never met her elder sister. She learnt about her sister through her parents. But the pain she carries, the occasional what-ifs she asked to herself and the loss she feels is immense. In three parts, the book showcases the doleful tragedy. First as an introductory and how her mother lost her first child in one snowy day. In second part, she writes a fictional life of her sister should she have lived. The last part is the borderless area of what is real and what is not.
In this book, Han Kang explores deep and personal philosophical views on life and death. Deborah Smith masterfully translated into English and I get to experience the narrator’s lament through very poetic proses. To portray the tormenting sorrow the writer craftily uses various white items found both in nature and in man made things as reference in accordance with her story such as snow, moon, sleet, rice cake, candle, breast milk, swaddling bands, etc.
This is very different from her other two books I had read, The Vegetarian and Human Acts. Both are unique in their own way and agonising to read. Here in the White Book, there is no prominent plot but filled with multiple parts of one to two pages of lyrical writings. Is this book a fictional story or poetry or essay? We can’t possibly categorise it into any of the genres, actually as the narrative itself is foggy but in a beautiful way. One thing for sure is that all these small chapters have the ability touch me deeply.
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