The Calligrapher's Daughter: A Novel by Eugenia KimPublisher: Henry Holt and Company
About the book: A sweeping debut novel inspired by the life of the author's mother, about a young woman who dares to fight for a brighter future in occupied Korea.
In early twentieth-century Korea, Najin Han, the privileged daughter of a calligrapher, longs to choose her own destiny. Smart and headstrong, she is encouraged by her mother--but her stern father is desperate to maintain the ways of traditional Korea, especially as the Japanese steadily gain control of his beloved country. When he seeks to marry Najin into an aristocratic family against her will, her mother defies generations of obedient wives and instead sends her to serve in the king's court as a companion to a young princess. But the king is soon assassinated, and the centuries-old dynastic culture comes to its end.
In the shadow of the dying monarchy, Najin begins a journey through increasing oppression while she pursues and education and surprisingly finds love. After just one night of marriage, a denied passport separates Najin from her new husband, who continues alone with their original plans for coveted education in America. As a decade passes, Japan invades China and then attacks Pearl Harbor. With an ocean between them--and the prospect of a reunion uncertain--will the love they share be enough to sustain Najin through the deprivation and violence her country continues to face?
Spanning thirty years, The Calligrapher's Daughter is a richly drawn novel about a country torn between ancient customs and modern possibilities, a family ultimately united by love, and a woman who never gives up her search for freedom. (book jacket)
About the author: Eugenia Sunher Kim, an MFA graduate of Bennington College, has published short stories and essays in journals and anthologies, including Echoes Upon Echoes: New Korean American Writings. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and son. The Calligrapher's Daughter is her first novel. (book jacket)
The Calligrapher's Daughter
Publisher/Publication Date: Henry Holt & Company, August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8912-7
400 pages
Publisher/Publication Date: Henry Holt & Company, August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8912-7
400 pages
