Through the story of a friendship between two women and the need to save a starving bird, this book recounts the horrors of the Jeju uprising of 1948, in which 30,000 people were killed and 40,000 were forced to flee to Japan. While these numbers vary, the essence of what happened remains horrifying. Despite the harshness of these historical events, the writing is poetic and ethereal. Reality, dreams, and the presence of spirits are intertwined to the point of being indistinguishable. It is a beautiful and educational read that has stayed with me since I finished it.
“I don’t know if this is what happens right before you die. Everything I have ever experienced is made crystalline. Nothing hurts any more. Hundreds upon thousands of moments glitter in unison, like snowflakes whose elaborate shapes are in full view. How this is possible, I can’t say. My every pain and joy, all my deep-rooted sorrows and loves, shine, not as an amalgam but as a whole comprised of distinct singularities, glowing together as one giant nebula.”
Original title : 작별하지 않는다 / jakbyeolhaji anneunda
Translated from Korean