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A review by jrisants
Human Acts by Han Kang
5.0
This book gutted me. I don’t know if I will ever recover from the words and emotions expressed through this.
Han Kang details the happenings and long-standing impacts of the Gwangju May Democratic Uprising (1980) using six different perspectives across 30 years. It is clear that some creative license is taken in one of the stories (namely to imagine what one might think or experience after death), though it seems that the core thread of Dong-Ho’s story is intact and that the author holds integrity to his memory, as well as those whose stories are also shared—which makes reading this even more painful.
What I appreciate is she did not seek to make heroes or inspirations out of the participants stories. She leans into the fear and trauma that are inextricably linked to these types of experiences. This part stood out to me most as an American reader since I am so accustomed to stories about standing up against corruption as bold, macho, and exciting with clear acts of bravery meant to inspire and often uplift the person who hears them. This is a story of suffering, as any experience with injustice and mistreatment is.
I cried through every chapter. I mourn what these people had to endure. I am grateful that they have been offered dignity through truth.
Han Kang details the happenings and long-standing impacts of the Gwangju May Democratic Uprising (1980) using six different perspectives across 30 years. It is clear that some creative license is taken in one of the stories (namely to imagine what one might think or experience after death), though it seems that the core thread of Dong-Ho’s story is intact and that the author holds integrity to his memory, as well as those whose stories are also shared—which makes reading this even more painful.
What I appreciate is she did not seek to make heroes or inspirations out of the participants stories. She leans into the fear and trauma that are inextricably linked to these types of experiences. This part stood out to me most as an American reader since I am so accustomed to stories about standing up against corruption as bold, macho, and exciting with clear acts of bravery meant to inspire and often uplift the person who hears them. This is a story of suffering, as any experience with injustice and mistreatment is.
I cried through every chapter. I mourn what these people had to endure. I am grateful that they have been offered dignity through truth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and War