Human Acts

A Literary Fiction Novel by Han Kang

Subgenres:

Historical Fiction,
South Korea,
Multi-POV

Published 2014

Length 213 pages

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Multi-voice narratives exploring trauma from every angle
Literary fiction confronting political violence and censorship
Stories where collective grief shapes personal identity

Publisher Description

FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

Amid a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed. The story of this tragic episode unfolds in a sequence of interconnected chapters as the victims and the bereaved encounter suppression, denial, and the echoing agony of the massacre.

From Dong-ho’s best friend who meets his own fateful end; to an editor struggling against censorship; to a prisoner and a factory worker, each suffering from traumatic memories; and to Dong-ho's own grief-stricken mother; and through their collective heartbreak and acts of hope is the tale of a brutalized people in search of a voice.

An award-winning, controversial bestseller, Human Acts is a timeless, pointillist portrait of an historic event with reverberations still being felt today, by turns tracing the harsh reality of oppression and the resounding, extraordinary poetry of humanity.

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