Translations of Beauty

by Mia Yun

Translations of Beauty maps the tender yet tumultuous relationship of twin sisters Inah and Yunah, from their early years in South Korea to their coming-of-age in Queens, New York. At the heart of the narrative -- told from Yunah's intimate, engaging point of view -- is an unforgettable event from their an accident that disfigured Inah for life, and the overwhelming sadness and guilt Yunah feels at having been spared. Now that Inah and Yunah are adults, each in search of her own identity while trying to remain true to traditional family values, they must find a way to negotiate their past and become the people they dare -- and dream -- to be.
Emotionally charged and thought-provoking, Translations of Beauty is an insightful saga of the immigrant experience that will resonate with all readers.

Genres: Fiction, Cultural, Asian Literature

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2004

About the author

Mia Yun was born and raised in South Korea. She received her Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from City College of New York. She has lectured extensively at literary events and universities She has also worked as a reporter, translator and freelance writer, and is currently the Korea correspondent for the Evergreen Review.

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

wonderful descriptions but a sad and often slow story

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. This book tells the story of a Korean family who immigrates to New York after the one of the twin daughters is severly burned in an accident in the home and ends up disfigured. The mother places all of their hopes and dreams for the burned daughter in America where children will not call her names and where she may even be able to be healed. Of course, the real America doesn't come close to the dream.

The story is told in the voice of the sister who was not injured and has to deal with the guilt of being the one who doesn't have to bear this terrible burden. You get a real and very complex picture of both parents and the two daughters and how deeply each of them is affected every day by this accident. The author explores through them questions about how people experience beauty.

I really liked this book, especially the way the author wrote the interactions between the individuals in the story. I also really appreciated that she didn't back down from dealing with a lot of hard issues such as rcism, immigration, but didn't go over the top in trying to be preachy about them, but made them a part of the full lives of the charachters.

I didn't really like, though her writing stly when she was just describing scens. For me it got bogged down with way too many metaphors.

[Kkraemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. The descriptions are sumptuous, the emotions full and rich, the characters complex.

It's the story of twins who were born in Korea who moved to Flushing, Queens (NY) as children. It tells of a Korean family: mother, father, aunties, uncles, grandmother, all of whom love and support and criticize each other regularly, all of whom see family as everything.

The twins are two halves of the same person, connected on every level as they grapple with growing up and learning about the big world. The narrator, Yunah, tells the stories. She's gorgeous, given to alternately embracing and criticizing everyone around her, full of delight, beauty, guilt, resentment, and anger. The twin, Inah, is, in some ways, the opposite: she's scarred on the outside, brilliant, reserved and withdrawn. The two love each other to their cores. They fight all the time.

"Memories," notes Yunah, "have a way of haunting and taunting," and the present is constantly affected by the stories from the past. These stories are, indeed, haunting and taunting, the kind of stories to ponder about our own families, relationships, experiences, and resentments.

[Tiph' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly amazing. Made me feel so many things. What an incredible writer. Made me escape far away for a few hours.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book.

[Garron · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first piece of Korean literature. And a pretty good story too. Quite insightful into issues of travel, dreams, beauty, family, siblings, Korean culture, American culture and immigration.

I think because I have had a taste of the Korean culture, I was able to enjoy this book more. Small things like the Korean dialogues, the expectations because one is Korean and just the Korean way of dealing with things. I also learned a few things to my list of "Korean Culture".

This book was hard to read though. I noticed I would be re-reading a few sentences because I couldn't get the gist of it. I think mainly because things are overly described. Like a poem. Hence, there are heaps of links.

All in all a good book to read on a cold day.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting and rather unusual novel by a young Korean-American who takes a slightly different approach to the lives of immigrant families. Because of a scalding accident that scars one of a pair of Korean twins, the family emigrates to the USA in hopes of finding a better life. The physicals scars are not the only ones; the rest of the family carries psychological scars. Although the move take the family away from rigid Korean mores, it doesn't really go as planned.

This is not an easy book. The story is told in a couple of different time frames which are sometimes hard to follow. I would recommend the book to book groups especially.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the story of the two sisters Inah and Yunah who came in their early childhood to Queens New York. Through a terrible childhood accident to Inah, the parents decide America is the only hope for a damaged child with a brilliant mind. I would have given it a higher rating but it was not easy to decide whether you were in the childhood or in Italy at age 28. Both girls struggle with their own guilts and sadness as does the whole family. It was too sad for my mood, but ended on a positive note.

[Fred Daly · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times I liked this a lot, and at times I got impatient with it. It's about twin sisters born in Korea who move to America after one suffers disfiguring burns to her face. There's some marvelous writing, but also a dismaying lack of variety (lots of attention to the color or the sky and to people's faces turning red). The burned sister is a compelling character; the other, who narrates, is a bit of a cipher.

[Carolyn Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the premiss of the book & the exploration on the far reaching effects of a sudden loss of physical beauty, especially in regards to the feelings of guilt & responsibility shared by family members. The perspectives on immigrant family life were also interesting. Overall, felt like the novel just "wandered" along, without ever letting us in to Inah's true state of being. Perhaps the intention is primarily to promote the reader's reflection.

[ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately, it's been awhile since I read this book. If I could find a copy, I'd reread it.

I really enjoyed this book, and it had some beautiful language; it was very poetic. At first, I wasn't really a fan of how it switched back and forth between the past and the present with no warning, but I soon grew to love it.

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe 3.5 stars? I liked it a lot but I wish we'd had more insight into Inah's motivations and the distance between her and Yunah. More, MORE!

[Stefanie]

Good story, a pretty easy read. I enjoy stories about multicultural experiences in America and people's perceptions of beauty.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really liked this story, you can connect to it, and also i love reading in other cultures views

[Shawna · Rating 2 out of 5]

hard to read

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just blah. Definitely had to force myself to finish this one. There was absolutely no point to the story and it was super, unnecessarily over-descriptive.

[Knightgina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. An interesting story, but for me too much flitting between past & present with too much of a blurred edge. I found myself not wholly engaging with it, which is a pity.

[Natalie Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but a little drawn out. Beautiful message though.

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

There just wasn't enough here to grab onto. Nothing is explained, characters are superficial, plot lines go nowhere. The three stars are for evoking some emotion some of the time.

[Claire Langhenry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for class in college. But I really liked it . The story stuck with me. I gotta reread this soon.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could nopt wait to finish!