Reviews
"An incredible meditation on one woman's abdication of language after she can no longer tolerate a world where violence is rooted even in speech . . . Both a disquieting journey about the loss of sense and a return to the sensorium of touch and intimacy, Greek Lessons soars with sensuous and revelatory insight." --Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings "Sinuous and sublime . . . an extraordinary meditation on language, violence, loss and intimacy. Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience." --Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies "A love letter to language, learning, and the hope of connection. It is about the mind and the body, our thoughts and our senses--about what it means to be a person in the world." --Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth "Reading a Han Kang book is a pleasure like no other. Both poetic and deeply philosophical, Greek Lessons is a beautiful, haunting story about the fragility and power of human connection. I can't stop thinking about it, and I don't want to." --Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek and Happiness Falls "Quiet, sharply faceted, and devastating . . . On page after page, [Kang] describes ever so meticulously the ways we are cut off from the world even as we yearn for it. . . . A stunning exploration of language, memory, and beauty from an internationally renowned writer." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Booker winner Kang explores the borders of the senses in this delicate love story...This brilliant, shimmering work is never at a loss for words even when exploring the mind of a woman who won't speak, and its pursuit of an authentic, exquisite new form is profound. Once again, Kang demonstrates great visionary power." --Publishers Weekly , starred review "Man Booker International Prize-winning Han Kang has built an enviable career providing exquisite, intimate space for damaged, lost souls. . . Han's newest import remains empathically timeless, a potential-love-story-in-progress that is another intimate, lingering meditation on identity and autonomy. . . [A] haunting exploration of tentative possibilities and yearned-for connections." -- Booklist (starred review), "An incredible meditation on one woman's abdication of language after she can no longer tolerate a world where violence is rooted even in speech." --Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings "Sinuous and sublime . . . an extraordinary meditation on language, violence, loss and intimacy. Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience." --Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies "A love letter to language, learning, and the hope of connection. It is about the mind and the body, our thoughts and our senses--about what it means to be a person in the world." --Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth "Reading a Han Kang book is a pleasure like no other. Both poetic and deeply philosophical, Greek Lessons is a beautiful, haunting story about the fragility and power of human connection. I can't stop thinking about it, and I don't want to." --Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek and Happiness Falls "Quiet, sharply faceted, and devastating . . . On page after page, [Kang] describes ever so meticulously the ways we are cut off from the world even as we yearn for it. . . . A stunning exploration of language, memory, and beauty from an internationally renowned writer." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Booker winner Kang explores the borders of the senses in this delicate love story. . . . This brilliant, shimmering work is never at a loss for words even when exploring the mind of a woman who won't speak, and its pursuit of an authentic, exquisite new form is profound. Once again, Kang demonstrates great visionary power." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Man Booker International Prize-winning Han Kang has built an enviable career providing exquisite, intimate space for damaged, lost souls. . . Han's newest import remains empathically timeless, a potential-love-story-in-progress that is another intimate, lingering meditation on identity and autonomy. . . [A] haunting exploration of tentative possibilities and yearned-for connections." -- Booklist (starred review), "How strange it is to be human. . . Han Kang turns the well-worn idea of the mind-body disconnect into something fresh and substantial. In Greek Lessons, Kang reaches beyond the usual senses to translate the unspeakable." --Los Angeles Times "One of the most unconventional, perceptive, and truly innovative writers publishing today. Kang pokes and prods at the marrow of human existence by weaving together words, phrases, and paragraphs that cling, pierce, and caress in equal turns. . . . For an author preoccupied with language's inadequacy, her prose hits its mark." --San Francisco Chronicle "A woman's extreme protest against the horrors of the human condition . . . touching [and] sympathetic." --The Wall Street Journal "An incredible meditation on one woman's abdication of language after she can no longer tolerate a world where violence is rooted even in speech." --Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings "Sinuous and sublime . . . an extraordinary meditation on language, violence, loss and intimacy. Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience." --Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies "A love letter to language, learning, and the hope of connection. It is about the mind and the body, our thoughts and our senses--about what it means to be a person in the world." --Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth "Reading a Han Kang book is a pleasure like no other. Both poetic and deeply philosophical, Greek Lessons is a beautiful, haunting story about the fragility and power of human connection. I can't stop thinking about it, and I don't want to." --Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek and Happiness Falls " Greek Lessons is breathtaking. On personhood, language, forms of pain, and the silence within and around us, Han Kang is always the most revelatory writer: she widens the sky of feeling. She is simply my favorite living writer to read, and think with, and see the world with." --Max Porter, author of Grief Is The Thing With Feathers "Quiet, sharply faceted, and devastating . . . On page after page, [Kang] describes ever so meticulously the ways we are cut off from the world even as we yearn for it. . . . A stunning exploration of language, memory, and beauty from an internationally renowned writer." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Booker winner Kang [explores] the borders of the senses in this delicate love story. . . . This brilliant, shimmering work is never at a loss for words even when exploring the mind of a woman who won't speak, and its pursuit of an authentic, exquisite new form is profound. Once again, Kang demonstrates great visionary power." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Man Booker International Prize-winning Han Kang has built an enviable career providing exquisite, intimate space for damaged, lost souls. . . . Han's newest import remains empathically timeless, a potential-love-story-in-progress that is another intimate, lingering meditation on identity and autonomy. . . . [A] haunting exploration of tentative possibilities and yearned-for connections." -- Booklist (starred review), "Sinuous and sublime, Greek Lessons is an extraordinary meditation on language, violence, loss, and intimacy. Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience." --Katie Kitamura "Han Kang's Greek Lessons is an incredible meditation on one woman's abdication of language after she can no longer tolerate a world where violence is even rooted in speech. Both a disquieting journey about the loss of sense and a return to the sensorium of touch and intimacy, Greek Lessons soars with sensuous and revelatory insight." --Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings "A love letter to language, learning, and the hope of connection. This novel is as cerebral as Socrates and as visceral as a blister about to pop. It is about the mind and the body, our thoughts and our senses--about what it means to be a person in the world." --Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth "Reading a Han Kang book is a pleasure like no other. Both poetic and deeply philosophical, Greek Lessons is a beautiful, haunting story about the fragility and power of human connection. I can't stop thinking about it, and I don't want to." --Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek and Happiness Falls, "An incredible meditation on one woman's abdication of language after she can no longer tolerate a world where violence is rooted even in speech." --Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings "Sinuous and sublime . . . an extraordinary meditation on language, violence, loss and intimacy. Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience." --Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies "A love letter to language, learning, and the hope of connection. It is about the mind and the body, our thoughts and our senses--about what it means to be a person in the world." --Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth "Reading a Han Kang book is a pleasure like no other. Both poetic and deeply philosophical, Greek Lessons is a beautiful, haunting story about the fragility and power of human connection. I can't stop thinking about it, and I don't want to." --Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek and Happiness Falls " Greek Lessons is breathtaking. On personhood, language, forms of pain, and the silence within and around us, Han Kang is always the most revelatory writer: she widens the sky of feeling. She is simply my favorite living writer to read, and think with, and see the world with." --Max Porter, author of Grief Is The Thing With Feathers "Quiet, sharply faceted, and devastating . . . On page after page, [Kang] describes ever so meticulously the ways we are cut off from the world even as we yearn for it. . . . A stunning exploration of language, memory, and beauty from an internationally renowned writer." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Booker winner Kang [explores] the borders of the senses in this delicate love story. . . . This brilliant, shimmering work is never at a loss for words even when exploring the mind of a woman who won't speak, and its pursuit of an authentic, exquisite new form is profound. Once again, Kang demonstrates great visionary power." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Man Booker International Prize-winning Han Kang has built an enviable career providing exquisite, intimate space for damaged, lost souls. . . . Han's newest import remains empathically timeless, a potential-love-story-in-progress that is another intimate, lingering meditation on identity and autonomy. . . . [A] haunting exploration of tentative possibilities and yearned-for connections." -- Booklist (starred review), "An incredible meditation on one woman's abdication of language after she can no longer tolerate a world where violence is rooted even in speech." --Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings "Sinuous and sublime . . . an extraordinary meditation on language, violence, loss and intimacy. Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience." --Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies "A love letter to language, learning, and the hope of connection. It is about the mind and the body, our thoughts and our senses--about what it means to be a person in the world." --Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth "Reading a Han Kang book is a pleasure like no other. Both poetic and deeply philosophical, Greek Lessons is a beautiful, haunting story about the fragility and power of human connection. I can't stop thinking about it, and I don't want to." --Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek and Happiness Falls "Quiet, sharply faceted, and devastating . . . On page after page, [Kang] describes ever so meticulously the ways we are cut off from the world even as we yearn for it. . . . A stunning exploration of language, memory, and beauty from an internationally renowned writer." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Booker winner Kang [explores] the borders of the senses in this delicate love story. . . . This brilliant, shimmering work is never at a loss for words even when exploring the mind of a woman who won't speak, and its pursuit of an authentic, exquisite new form is profound. Once again, Kang demonstrates great visionary power." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Man Booker International Prize-winning Han Kang has built an enviable career providing exquisite, intimate space for damaged, lost souls. . . . Han's newest import remains empathically timeless, a potential-love-story-in-progress that is another intimate, lingering meditation on identity and autonomy. . . . [A] haunting exploration of tentative possibilities and yearned-for connections." -- Booklist (starred review), "Sinuous and sublime, Greek Lessons is an extraordinary meditation on language, violence, loss and intimacy. Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience." --Katie Kitamura
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE - A dazzling novel about the saving grace of language and human connection, from the "visionary" ( New York Times Book Review ) author of the International Booker Prize winner The Vegetarian "Both a disquieting journey about the loss of sense and a return to the sensorium of touch and intimacy, Greek Lessons soars with sensuous and revelatory insight."--Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, Time, Chicago Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal "Now and then, language would thrust its way into her sleep like a skewer through meat, startling her awake several times a night." In a classroom in Seoul, a young woman watches her Greek language teacher at the blackboard. She tries to speak but has lost her voice. Her teacher finds himself drawn to the silent woman, for day by day he is losing his sight. Soon the two discover a deeper pain binds them together. For her, in the space of just a few months, she has lost both her mother and the custody battle for her nine-year-old son. For him, it's the pain of growing up between Korea and Germany, being torn between two cultures and languages, and the fear of losing his independence. Greek Lessons tells the story of two ordinary people brought together at a moment of private anguish--the fading light of a man losing his vision meeting the silence of a woman who has lost her language. Yet these are the very things that draw them to each other. Slowly the two discover a profound sense of unity--their voices intersecting with startling beauty, as they move from darkness to light, from silence to breath and expression. Greek Lessons is the story of the unlikely bond between this pair and a tender love letter to human intimacy and connection--a novel to awaken the senses, one that vividly conjures the essence of what it means to be alive., NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE * A dazzling novel about the saving grace of language and human connection, from the "visionary" ( New York Times Book Review ) author of the International Booker Prize winner The Vegetarian "Both a disquieting journey about the loss of sense and a return to the sensorium of touch and intimacy, Greek Lessons soars with sensuous and revelatory insight."--Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor Feelings A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, Time, Chicago Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal "Now and then, language would thrust its way into her sleep like a skewer through meat, startling her awake several times a night." In a classroom in Seoul, a young woman watches her Greek language teacher at the blackboard. She tries to speak but has lost her voice. Her teacher finds himself drawn to the silent woman, for day by day he is losing his sight. Soon the two discover a deeper pain binds them together. For her, in the space of just a few months, she has lost both her mother and the custody battle for her nine-year-old son. For him, it's the pain of growing up between Korea and Germany, being torn between two cultures and languages, and the fear of losing his independence. Greek Lessons tells the story of two ordinary people brought together at a moment of private anguish--the fading light of a man losing his vision meeting the silence of a woman who has lost her language. Yet these are the very things that draw them to each other. Slowly the two discover a profound sense of unity--their voices intersecting with startling beauty, as they move from darkness to light, from silence to breath and expression. Greek Lessons is the story of the unlikely bond between this pair and a tender love letter to human intimacy and connection--a novel to awaken the senses, one that vividly conjures the essence of what it means to be alive.
