A review by theconstantreader
Princess Bari by Hwang Sok-yong

4.0

This is not a book about one girl's struggle to find her place in a world of famine, disaster and war. This is a book about all of the world's displaced people.

It is a beautiful book where Bari's story is intertwined with with a fairytale (of sorts), Princess Bari. Perhaps because of this, the book is written in a smooth, simple and soft kind of way. I think this made the book shine. The story itself was rather complex but the way it was told so directly, in such a matter-of-fact manner, intimated that Bari knew no different. I felt that this delivery made the events even more shocking and jarring to the reader. Bari is such a stoic character and it comes off like she never realises it. This is just her life.

We can see here that Sok-yong is tackling huge social issues from the perspective of a victim of the system. No complex language is used and the story is not dramatised. It is told like it happened, like Bari would explain it to you.

This books makes us reflect on humanity's ability to be cruel but also on our ability to overcome great hardship.