Critic Reviews
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Based on 13 reviews on
"[Han Kang writes in] intense poetic prose that . . . exposes the fragility of human life."--from the Nobel Prize citation
SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE - A "formally daring, emotionally devastating, and deeply political" (The New York Times Book Review) exploration of personal grief through the prism of the color white, from the internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian
"Stunningly beautiful. . . one of the smartest reflections on what it means to remember those we've lost."--NPR
Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize, Han Kang's The White Book is a meditation on color, as well as an attempt to make sense of her older sister's death, who died in her mother's arms just a few hours after she was born.
In captivating, starkly beautiful language, The White Book is a letter from Kang to her sister, offering a multilayered exploration of color and its absence, and of the tenacity and fragility of the human spirit.
Martin Doyle is a books editor.
Rónán Hession on the latest Han Kang in English: Though Greek Lessons certainly has its merits, its central premise is not as strong or well realised as in The Vegetarian, nor is the sense of delicacy and mood as effectively expressed as in The White Book https://t.co/F60QDlgS26
San, 20+, writer, NSFW 🔞, MXTX & PRIEST🐉 feel free to DM me! ✨ Hualian is my reason to live 🍃 pl/eng
I don’t share here much about myself or anything I like besides Hualian or just Chinese novels, but I can recommend reading “The White Book” by Korean author - Han Kang ✨ This one is specific because this book is about loss and grief but it’s really beautiful written https://t.co/G2EjaBx7bs
"With eloquence and grace, Han breathes life into loss and fills the emptiness with this new work."--Library Journal
"Everything I ever thought about the color white has been profoundly altered by reading Han Kang's brilliant exploration of its meaning and the ways in which white shapes her world, from birth to death--including the death of The White Book's narrator's older sister, who died just a few hours after she was born, in her mother's arms. This is an unforgettable meditation on grief and memory, resilience and acceptance, all offered up in Han's luminous, intimate prose."--Nylon
"Han's first two English-language translations were instant sensations, establishing her as a riveting practitioner of the surreal and of historical fiction alike. Her latest . . . is told by a woman haunted by the death of her elder sister just after birth--a contemplation of life, death, resilience and, as the title hints, color."--HuffPost
"[The White Book] promises to be equal parts Italo Calvino, Angela Carter, and something entirely Han Kang's own. . . . A quieter, yet just as intensely symbolic, follow-up to the startling violence of her first two books."--LitHub
"A quietly gripping contemplation on life, death, and the existential impact of those who have gone before."--Eimear McBride, author of The Lesser Bohemians
"The White Book is a profound and precious thing, its language achingly intimate, each image haunting and true. It is a remarkable achievement. Han Kang is a genius."--Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies
"Kang's masterful voice is captivating and nothing short of brilliant."--Booklist (starred review)