Minbak

£16.99

Incheon, South Korea, 1985. The country is revolting against a dictatorship, but in the local boarding-house, the chaos inside is only just beginning. When Hana is pulled from school to work in her family’s minbak, all she wants is to escape her small town. When she finally does, she leaves as an exile, a ruin, or a martyr, depending on who you ask. Her mother Youngia is left behind with the torment of both of their decisions. London, 2008. Ada knows little about her mother, Hana. When tragedy hits, Hana has no choice but to move her daughter and ailing mother into a single room and turn the rest of their home into a minbak. As the past collides with the present, Ada is determined to unearth her mother’s secrets. But her obsession will lead to a discovery that unravels not just her family’s dark past, but that of an entire country’s.

Peek Inside

In stock

Description

*A RADIO 2 WINTER BOOK CLUB PICK*

‘A beautiful, tender story of displacement and loss which shows the resilience of the human spirit’ Cecile Pin
‘Deeply moving and graceful, it shines light on a secret slice of Korea’s history, gradually unveiling the secrets that bind – and divide – three generations’ Silvia Park
A sweeping story of three generations of women who cross continents and decades to find truth, forgiveness and compassion.
Incheon, 1985. A nameless baby is born in a minbak in South Korea and vanishes nine days later.

London, 2008. When tragedy strikes, Hana faces ruin. She is forced to move her family – her teenage daughter Ada and ailing mother Youngja – into a single room with her, converting the rest of their home into a minbak, in a painful echo of her past life.

In the confined space of their shared room, there is nowhere to hide. As the past collides with the present, all three women are forced to face not only their family’s dark history, but that of an entire country.

‘Lyrical and devastating Minbak is a flawless meditation on memory, love and misunderstanding.’ Ella King

‘A poignant and precise novel by a writer of great skill’ Nicola Dinan

Had me utterly engrossed. An incredible story of love, conflict and heartbreak.’ Rosie Price

Readers are LOVING Minbak:
‘Tender, heart wrenching and honest’ ? ? ? ? ?
‘A masterpiece, a perfect exercise in empathy and survival’ ? ? ? ? ?
‘A quietly devastating novel about three generations of Korean women whose present is, in different ways, haunted by the past . . . Beautiful and bittersweet’ ? ? ? ? ?
‘Heartbreaking but utterly stunning’ ? ? ? ? ?
‘Stunning – at the core of it, it feels like it’s a book about choices, memory, and ultimately, love’ ? ? ? ? ?
‘All I can say is WOW!’ ? ? ? ? ?

Read a sample here

Additional information

Weight 0.466 kg
Dimensions 22.4 × 14.5 × 3.2 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

352

Language

English

Edition

Hardback original

Dewey

823.92 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K