오 하느님

by Jo Jung-rae, 조정래

How in Heaven’s Name is a microcosm of the uprooting and dislocation that have characterized much of modern Korean and East Asian history. It is based on the true story of several Korean youths who in the late 1930s were lured into the Japanese Imperial Army either through promises by the Japanese colonial overlords of a government clerkship upon discharge or by means of threats to transplant their entire families to colonial outposts in Manchuria.

Genres: World War II

244 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2007

About the author

Jo Jung-Rae has devoted his entire life to literature. His writings attain an excellence that marks him as a world-class author. His popular multi-volume novels Taebaek Mountain Range and Arirang, which have become modern classics since their publication in the 1980s, are considered the epitome of his talent. With the publication of Han River in 2002, Jo completed his trilogy of works on Korean modern history. Sales reached a record-breaking number in Korea-- over 10,000,000 copies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Jung-rae

Reviews

[Barry Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watch my review on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGjAY...

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel is based off the really interesting situation of the Korean soldier who was at the Battle of Normandy in a German uniform (he spoke no German, and the American soldiers had no idea how he got there), but I think it fell flat if its goal was to tell a story leading up to the Battle of Normandy. The scenes in the POW camps were intense, but the scenes in the different countries' armies seemed almost like an afterthought, like "oh right, then an officer made them soldiers." The characters' relationships were the best part of the book, and I wish we could've seen more of Shin's reactions to characters' deaths and being reunited with old characters.

Overall, the book wasn't very engaging outside of the dialogue, and the writing style made the fascinating story lackluster, but it's definitely a good book to check out if you're interested in POWs in the USSR, Germany, or the US during WWII.

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This historical novel delves into the tragic and little known history of Koreans, under Japan's rule, who were forcibly recruited into the Japanese army then captured by the Soviet Red Army, then the Germans and eventually captured by the Americans. Chongnae (and Fultons) portray touching personal stories where the human desire for fairness and the human character for hope exists even under the worse possible circumstances.