The Calligrapher's Daughter

(Paperback)

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'A beautiful, deliberate and satisfying story spanning thirty years of Korean history' Publishers' Weekly 'Kim weaves a wonderfully nuanced historical portrait, rich in detail and resonant with meaning and wisdom' Independent In 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 determined to maintain tradition, especially as the Japanese steadily gain control of his beloved country. When he seeks to marry fourteen-year-old Najin into an aristocratic family, her mother defies generations of obedient wives and instead sends her daughter 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 that will change her world forever. As she desperately seeks to continue her education, will the unexpected love she finds along the way be enough to sustain her through the violence and subjugation her country continues to face Spanning thirty years, The Calligapher's Daughter is an exquisite 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.

Reviews

A beautiful, deliberate and satisfying story spanning thirty years of Korean history -- Starred Review * Publishers' Weekly *
Kim weaves a wonderfully nuanced historical portrait, rich in detail and resonant with meaning and wisdom -- Anita Sethi * Independent *
Kim opens a window into a vanished world in this sensitively rendered homage to her mothers life [an] achingly beautiful tribute to female perseverance and survival * Booklist *
A bold, richly detailed story about the young daughter of a well-known calligrapher in turn-of-the 20th-century Korea ... [A] vivid, heartfelt portrait of faith, love and life for one family during a pivotal time in history -- Amy Scribner * Bookpage *
Eugenia Kim's sensitive first novel, which depicts 30 years of Korea's modern history in light of its ancient past, is an illuminating prequel to present-day events. Set from 1915 to 1945, it's an intrinsically interesting account of the collisions of cultures [and] ... a poignant family history * Washington Post *

Author Bio

Eugenia Kim's is Bennington College MFA graduate and teaches at Fairfield University's MFA Creative Writing Program. She lives in Washington, DC. Her new novel, The Kinship of Secrets, is due for publication in November 2018.