Human Acts in Around the World in 80 Books

Sep 17, 2016 Rachel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Thank you for the giveaway Goodreads!

I read The Vegetarian earlier this year, and while I enjoyed it this was much better. It rang with truth and the different styles, alternating with first and second person, felt like I was involved, that I was there.

I think the fact that not only does this book bring to light the suppressed uprising, the deaths of the students in Gwangju, South Korea but also the aftermath, the effects of the deaths on those close to them, the torture of those who didn't di ...more

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Oct 09, 2020 Travellinckx rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, politik, fiction, literature, terjemahan

The book is so powerful, written in a melancholic tone and it sucked my emotion dry because each sentence feels like opening a bleeding wound. Suddenly, you feel you've been blessed with a good life when you read this book in a country side, in the middle of perfect solitude. ...more

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Jul 27, 2017 Deedee rated it liked it

Shelves: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, translation, asian-literature, read-in-2017, historical-fiction-1980s, world-asia-korea, read-2017-literary-fiction, challenge-2017-summer

The book is based on a historical event known as the Gwangju Uprising. The Gwangju Uprising occurred in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to 27, 1980. (I was an adult at the time but I don't remember hearing anything about it.) Human Acts focusses on one young (13? 14?) teenaged boy who was killed during the uprising. She examines the death from many points of view, including that of his best friend and his mother. The historical details were interesting. The tone of the book was unr ...more

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