This Burns My Heart: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

In this compelling love story set in postwar Korea in the 1960s, an unhappily married woman struggles to give her daughter a good life and to find love in a society caught between ancient tradition and change.

Reviews

An incredible read . . . I dont want it to end. I love it! Hoda Kotb, Today
Extraordinary . . . A page-turner of a book . . . South Korea provides not only the backdrop of Soo-Jas story, but also the context for Parks novel, which spans the decades after the Korean War to the beginning of the countrys economic boom. In a sense, Soo-Jas story parallels South Koreas development from a poor, struggling state to a gleaming Asian tiger. Chicago Tribune
Memorable . . . Atmospheric and exuberantly filmic . . . a simple but visceral romance in a refreshing Korean setting. The Miami Herald
Park does a good job of bringing the rapidly changing South Korea of the 1960s alive. As cities sprout from beanfields and rickshaws give way to Kias, the world around Soo-Ja and her family is changing at a frightening speed. . . . I especially recommend this novel to readers who were intrigued (as was I) by Lisa Sees Dreams of Joy, set in postwar China. The contrast is fascinating. The Christian Science Monitor
This Burns My Heart is quietly stunninga soft, fierce story that lingers in the mind. Samuel Park is a deft and elegant writer; this is a very exciting debut. Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Travelers Wife
Vividatmospheric . . . Parks descriptions of antigovernment clashes and the martyrdom of a 12-year-old boy, in particular, provide eerily prescient reverberations of recent clashes in Syria. Boston Globe
Writing prose with the beauty of poetry, Samuel Park traces a young woman's journey to hard-won maturity, alongside the meteoric rise of post-war Korea, in a novel which shines with eloquence and wisdom. David Henry Hwang, Tony-Award winning author of M. Butterfly
This Burns My Heart is a delicate yet powerful story of love, loss, and endurance. The emotional world of the heroine, Soo-Ja, is beautifully realized; I found myself caught up in her dramas from start to finish. Sarah Waters, author of The Little Stranger and Fingersmith
Park does a good job of bringing the rapidly changing South Korea of the 1960s alive. As cities sprout from beanfields and rickshaws give way to Kias, the world around Soo-Ja and her family is changing at a frightening speed. . . . I especially recommend this novel to readers who were intrigued (as was I) by Lisa Sees Dreams of Joy, set in postwar China. The contrast is fascinating. The Christian Science Monitor
An understatedly brilliant tale . . . Through Soo-Jas eyes, Park beautifully evokes 1960s war-torn South Korea. Audrey Magazine

Author Bio

Samuel Park was an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. He graduated from Stanford University and the University of Southern California, where he earned his doctorate. He is the author of the novellaShakespeares Sonnetsand the writer-director of a short film of the same name, which was an official selection of numerous domestic and international film festivals. He is also the author of the novelsThis Burns My HeartandThe Caregiver. His nonfiction has appeared in TheNew York Times. Born in Brazil and raised in Los Angeles, he split his time between Chicago and Los Angeles. In April 2017, Samuel Park died of stomach cancer at the age of 41 shortly after finishingThe Caregiver.