The House of Pomegranate Trees

by Hahn Moo-Sook, Jin-Young Choi (Translator), Suzanne Newton (Translator)

119 pages, ebook

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Han Moo-sook was born October 25, 1918 in Seoul and graduated from Pusan Girls’ High School. She initially studied fine arts but switched to literature after she married Kim Zin-hoong in 1941. She has five children. Active in literary and artistic circles as well, Han Moo-sook held various posts, serving as the director of Korean P.E.N. Club, the National Museum of Korea, and Korean Women Writers’ Assembly. Han died in 1993.

Han Moo-sook was a reclusive housewife who “whisked away” the first prize in a novel writing contest in the early 1941. After that she traveled from one literary triumph to another. Han received first prizes in drama competitions with a one-act play, “Heart” in 1943 and a four-act play, " Frost Flowers" in 1944. In 1948, in a competition sponsored by the newspaper Kukche Sinbo, she received first prize for her full-length novel, “And So Flows History.” She won the Asia Foundation's Freedom Literature Award for a short story entitled "Abyss" (1957) and the Republic of Korea National Literature Award for her novel, “Encounter” (1986) Han published her first novel, “The Changes of History,” with Jai-Yaing Press and received popular acclaim. She also published short stories including “Broken Image,” “Coming Home,” “Stone,” “The Emotional Complex,” and “A Halo Around the Moon.”

Han Moo-sook's fiction often embraces purity through literature. While many Korean writers were enveloped in nihilism or existentialism, Han Moo-sook made her mark by warmly rendering human joys rather than engaging in cynical pessimism. Her themes varied from universal concerns including love and suffering to issues specific to the Korean context, including her portrayal of the anguish of a generation that witnessed the brief democratic euphoria of the 1960 April 19 Revolution. All her works, however reveal her multitude of literary skills including vivid description of customs, precise language, and skillful representations of inner consciousness.

Reviews

[Thong May Han · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. This book is boring. I was almost 50% in and nothing happened, none of the characters are likeable or memorable, and I don't feel anything. The blandest of bland. The girl (Sun Young? I barely remember her name) sounded like she could be a key character, but honestly I can't even describe her other than 'beautiful' and 'aloof' (not that you'd miss these descriptions; the book whacks you over the head with these terms). Jae-min is utterly bland and unlikeable, and Young-ho (I'm not even sure of his name at this point) is... what? Rich? The cast of characters are so unmemorable that the moment I stopped reading I can barely remember their names!

After so many pages I don't even know what the plot is supposed to be and that's when I realized, there's no point continuing.

[Reshma Tamboli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, keeps hooked untill end. There is an element of mystery, meloncholy to the plot, but end seems like rushed. It could be a lengthy book if given all characters point of view. It would have interesting to read from Jae-Min and A-Ja's perspective too. Their story more seems like a plot filler.

[Fiyin Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful "summery" book to read, especially in the last week of August. While it may not have a grand plot, the story's subtlety is engaging and fulfilling. It's very wholesome, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I can definitely see myself picking it up again.

I don’t know why it took me such a long time to finish this book.

[Yumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really bad on my reading stats so finishing this book became so important for me. And i finally did it!

For the book, it was very melancholic, and had a bizarreness to it with the plot. I liked the first two parts of the book but wasn't exactly vibing with the last part.