{"product_id":"i-went-to-see-my-father-9781399611718","title":"I Went to See My Father","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoon after losing her own daughter in a tragic accident, Hon returns to her childhood home in the Korean countryside after many years away. Her father, a cattle farmer, is elderly and requires her care. He is withdrawn, kind but awkward around his own daughter. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  As time passes however, Hon realises that her father is far more complex than she ever realised. The discovery of a chest of letters and conversations with his family and friends help Hon piece together the tumultuous story of his life. She learns of her father''s experiences during the Korean War and the violence of the 19th April Revolution; of a love affair and involvement in a religious sect; of his sacrifice and heroism and of the phantoms that haunt him. As she unravels secret after secret, Hon grows closer to her father, realising that his lifelong kindness belies a past wrought in both private and national trauma. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  More than just the portrait of one man, \u003ci\u003eI Went to See My Father\u003c\/i\u003e opens a window\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is a book which reminds us that we all suffer from the same wounds, that no individual is free from the pains of their geography and that the greatest losses can only be healed where they all begin \u003c\/b\u003e -- Defne Suman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA book that makes you hurt all over and smile at the same time. The experience being shared is so immediately relatable, so universal yet Korean, so beautiful and powerful at the same time\u003c\/b\u003e -- Kim Hyesoon\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eI Went to See My Father\u003c\/i\u003e features the author's hallmark emotional richness combined with a precision of language that pierces the soul. Just as Shin's \u003ci\u003ePlease Look After Mother\u003c\/i\u003e gives a voice to the forgotten mother, this novel vividly shows the father as a figure whom we often overlook. Shin guides us on a journey of heartache to literary catharsis\u003c\/b\u003e -- Sang Young Park\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eShin threads together a lyrical family drama and the multi-layered spectrum of Korean history in a compelling epic. It is not only a story of love and pain between father and daughter, but of how memories can heal tragic wounds and restore damaged relationships. A powerful, elegant, page-turner\u003c\/b\u003e -- J.M. Lee\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGentle yet piercing . . . [\u003ci\u003eI Went to See My Father \u003c\/i\u003eis a] sensitively crafted family portrait that's both specific and universal and, above all, humane\u003c\/b\u003e * Kirkus Reviews *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOnce more, Shin masterfully glides between quotidian details and astounding feats of survival revealed through multiple voices (older brothers, their mother, a wartime friend) and formats (letters, recordings, long chat messages) to create another universally empathic masterpiece\u003c\/b\u003e -- Terry Hong * Booklist, starred review *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Orion Publishing Co","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48885497921879,"sku":"9781399611718","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781399611718.jpg?v=1722536664","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/i-went-to-see-my-father-9781399611718","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}