Ch'oe Yun

One word: Haunting. Originally written in Korean and translated to English, this book contains a novella and two stories, “Whisper Yet” and “The Thirteen-Scent Flower”. The two additional stories are okay, of them I enjoyed the second one the most. However, the title novella that opens the collection takes the cake. It’s about a girl who has witnessed a horrific tragedy and is left drifting through the countryside. The writing is beautiful, I can only imagine how wonderful it would be in the original Korean. Although it could easily be read in one sitting, it’s one of those stories you want to take your time with.

Reviewed here: http://alitareads.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/three-fantastic-books-final-thoughts/… (meer)

There a Petal Silently Falls is a collection of three previously published short stories by the South Korean author Ch'oe Yun. Each story is a unique, vividly rich experience for the reader to savor as the layers of each story, and the stories within stories, are slowly peeled back and exposed.

The first and title story is a haunting examination of a teenage girl's self-destructive behavior and psychological collapse in the aftermath of experiencing a traumatic event, witnessing her mother's murder. The story unfolds slowly through multiple narrations. While this story was written with the Kwangju Massacre of 1980 in mind, Ch'oe Yun has created a universal story that allows the reader to draw parallels with the aftermath of any massacre or political atrocity, be it in the past or the future.

The remaining two stories, "Whisper Yet" and "The Thirteen Scent Flower" continue to showcase Ch'oe Yun's strength in writing. In "Whisper Yet" a mother looks back on her youth and the impact Korea's national division had on families, especially families with leftist political views. The last story, "The Thirteen Scent Flower", brings a modern, satirical look at government, academia and large corporations in their pursuit of an exotic flower nurtured by a young couple, who were drawn together by fate.

In summary, an excellent collection of stories set in post World War II Korea.… (meer)