Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025--San Antonio
We Do Not Part by Han Kang was longlisted for the National Book Award and named a top book of 2025 by BBC and Penguin, but it wasn't a great read for me. There's an interesting back story about times on Jeju Island in South Korea during the 1940s and 50s about the Communist uprising--the atrocities committed by the government forces against general citizens assumed to be Communist supporters because of geographic location and association, the arrival of the US troops to assist the government forces, and cover-ups all the way to the 1960s. There are mass killings, mass graves, sealed government records, etc. The book emphasizes the story behind one village and one particular family. But tied with this is a "mystical" story set in current times that involves two long-time female friends. The woman in the hospital receiving treatments every 3 minutes has sent her friend many miles south to her home with the explanation that her pet bird must be saved from starvation while she is hospitalized. But after a long, difficult trip to the home due to a heavy, long lasting snow storm the friend is "joined" (spiritually?) by her hospitalized friend who sent her where she continues to reveal the historical story. Somehow, she is in her home handling, passing, and showing her long-term friend books, papers, and photographs that allow the long-ago story to come to completion. Tied to it all are plans that the two friends have discussed a project for creating a memorial of undetermined purpose based on a vision in a dream. For lovers of Creative (purposely with a Capital C), maybe it is a great book. For me, it was a long slog that became interesting only at times when the backstory was being revealed. I gave the book 3 stars out of 5.
