The White Book.

KANG, Han.

$375.00

Item Number: 147088

London: Portobello Books, 2018.

First edition of this provocative novella. Duodecimo, original wrappers, illustrated. Signed by the author in Korean and dated “2023.5.12.” In fine condition. Translated by Deborah Smith.

South Korean writer Han Kang began her literary journey writing award-winning poems and short stories before turning her talents to novels. Han has won the Yi Sang Literary Award, the 25th Korean Novel Award, the 2000 Today's Young Artist Award, and the 2010 Dongri Literary Award, and was recently awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature by the Swedish Academy for her "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life," making her the first South Korean writer and the first female Asian writer to be awarded the prize. Her publication 'The White Book' is a series of descriptions of white things, culminating in a stunning review of grief, fragility, and the beauty of life. "Each [chapter] is a miniature work of art in its own right . . . Smith's peerless translation captures every last tiny nuance, the resulting prose so beautiful and affecting that it stops you in your tracks" (Lucy Scholes, National).