Junghyo Ahn (1941–2023)

This unsettling book is set during a time that most American readers like myself will be familiar with, the Korean War (and that mostly from watching many episodes of M*A*S*H). A remote village, relatively unaffected by previous wars - including the Japanese occupation - finds itself adjacent to the encampment of the "World Army" of United Nations troops sent to fight the war. As the novel begins a pair of predatory soldiers scour the village and rape a young widow named Ollye. Following the show more lead of the village elder, none of her neighbors offer their aid or sympathy but instead ostracize her. Ollye is forced to make ends meet by joining the "Yankee Wives," local women working as prostitutes for the UN troops. Much of the novel is seen through the eyes of Ollye's son Mansik who is shamed by his mother and shunned by the other boys in the village. Yet Mansik also finds himself willing to debase himself to once again be able to accepted by the other boys. Parts of this novel strike a false note, especially the climax where Ollye confronts the villagers with a speech played up for dramatic effect, but mostly I was overwhelmed by the stark reality of the cruelty of humanity. This is a dark novel about the affect of war on community and human nature. show less

1950s in Kumsan (North Korea), small village where little has changed even throughout the Japanese Occupation. Then the Korean War arrivs, Mansik's mother is raped, and shamed by the old traditions, she becomes a prostitute in the Yankee Army town constructed nearby. Conflict of Mansik's desire for his friendships--their snubbing, his mother's position--until none of it matters because everyone flees south from the Chinese entering the war.