Human Acts

A Novel

De: Han Kang, Deborah Smith - translator

Narrado por: Sandra Oh, Deborah Smith, Greta Jung, Jae Jung, Jennifer Kim, Raymond J. Lee, Keong Sim

FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

“[Han Kang writes in] intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”—from the Nobel Prize citation

The internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian presents a “rare and astonishing” (The Observer) portrait of political unrest and the universal struggle for justice.

“Compulsively readable, universally relevant, and deeply resonant . . . in equal parts beautiful and urgent.”—The New York Times Book Review

Shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award • One of the Best Books of the Year: The Atlantic, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, HuffPost, Medium, Library Journal

Amid a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed.

The story of this tragic episode unfolds in a sequence of interconnected chapters as the victims and the bereaved encounter suppression, denial, and the echoing agony of the massacre. From Dong-ho’s best friend who meets his own fateful end; to an editor struggling against censorship; to a prisoner and a factory worker, each suffering from traumatic memories; and to Dong-ho's own grief-stricken mother; and through their collective heartbreak and acts of hope is the tale of a brutalized people in search of a voice.

An award-winning, controversial bestseller, Human Acts is a timeless, pointillist portrait of an historic event with reverberations still being felt today, by turns tracing the harsh reality of oppression and the resounding, extraordinary poetry of humanity.

Read by Sandra Oh, Greta Jung, Jae Jung, Jennifer Kim, Raymond J. Lee, and Keong Sim, with an introduction read by Deborah Smith

Moving

A heart breaking story of the korean people and a generation of youth that would never see what they could be.

Unforgettable and devastatingly beautiful

While reading the final chapter from the mother’s point of view, I felt as though I couldn’t breathe. The pain of losing a son, the vivid memories of joy when he was born, and the unbearable sorrow of witnessing his death overwhelmed me. This book is a reminder that Korea’s democracy was not given freely—it was built on the blood of the brave. I wonder what today’s youth think of such sacrifice. Ironically, the language used in this book is hauntingly beautiful, filled with poetic depth even in describing pain. A masterpiece in every sense.

Well written darkness

This work though masterfully written was almost too dark for my tastes. Depression is not a place I like to visit but this work leaves me there on the cusp. Social and political upheaval are best visited from far,far away.

heart aching

the details that described in each different situations, the sorrow, brutality, hurts, and some healing follows.

The history and information

I never knew about that massacre till now. life changing book on how I look at our government abd koreas