The Ginseng Hunter

(Paperback)

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Beautiful and provocative, The Ginseng Hunter explores the little-known world of North Korea through the eyes of a Chinese observer. FIRST TIME IN PAPERBACK. ANCHOR. A Chinese ginseng hunter lives alone in the valley, where he spends his days preparing for winter. He is scarcely aware of the larger world until shadowy figures, floating bodies, and rumors of murder begin to intrude on his cherished solitude. Then, on a trip to Yanji, he meets a young North Korean prostitute. Through her vivid tales, the tragedy occurring across the river unfolds, and soon the hunter realizes that the fates of the young woman and four others rest in his hands.An unforgettable look at life along the fragile border between China and North Korea, The Ginseng Hunter is a confirmation of Jeff Talarigo's talent for finding humanity in the most unexpected places.

Reviews

Remarkable. . . . A story of quiet humanity in the midst of overwhelming inhumanity.
The Christian Science Monitor

A psychologically affecting portrait of desire and guilt. . . . A scathing reminder of the perils that communism continues to wreak in pockets across the world.
Chicago Sun-Times

This brave book, written in starkly vivid prose, is timely on several levels. . . . We seldom get a window into North Korean lives. The view is painful, but well worth it.
The Free Lance-Star

Evanescent. [Shows] the beauty and power of the ginseng root, the respect of the hunter for the thing he hunts.
Los Angeles Times

Author Bio

JEFF TALARIGO won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Foundation Award for his widely acclaimed first novel, The Pearl Diver. After living in Japan for almost fourteen years, he, with his wife and son, moved back to the United States in 2006. He was awarded a fellowship at the New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. The Ginseng Hunter is his second novel.