Greek Lessons

by Kang, Han

Korea

Published 01/02/2024 by Penguin Books Ltd in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 160 pages

Book of the Year 2023 according to New Yorker, TIME magazine, Kirkus A powerful novel of the saving grace of language and human connection, from the celebrated author of The Vegetarian.

'Breathtaking . . . She is simply my favourite living writer to read, and think with, and see the world with' Max PorterIn a classroom in Seoul, a young woman watches her Greek language teacher at the blackboard. She tries to speak but has lost her voice. Her teacher finds himself drawn to the silent woman, for day by day he is losing his sight.

Soon they discover a deeper pain binds them. For her, in the space of just a few months, she has lost both her mother and the custody battle for her nine-year-old son. For him, it's the pain of growing up between Korea and Germany, being torn between two cultures and languages.

Greek Lessons is a tender love letter to human connection, a novel to awaken the senses, vividly conjuring the essence of what it means to be alive.

Translated by Deborah Smith and e. yaewon.

'Another stunning gem: quiet, sharply faceted, and devastating' Kirkus'Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience' Katie Kitamura