8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster

Ms. Mook is a living at the Golden Sunset home in South Korea. She is almost one hundred years old and was born in North Korea. A recently divorced woman writes the life stories of the retirement home residents, which then serve as an obituary upon their deaths. The journalist interviews Ms. Mook and learns that she has lived eight lives, including slave, escape artist, murderer, terrorist, spy, lover and mother.

Each chapter explores a different role in Ms. Mook’s life. They are told in non-linear order depending on which life the interviewer selects. Ms. Mook have lived through a wide swath of history covering the majority of the twentieth century. War and violence have taken a toll such that Ms. Mook has had to adapt to the point show more of figuratively shapeshifting into the trickster of the title. Elements of magical realism are scattered throughout.

This book relates modern Korean history from the standpoint of one who survived. It is beautifully written. The storytelling aspect is particularly appealing to me. It is very dark in places but also contains elements of hope and even joy, which represents a full life and range of emotions. This story is based on the author’s great aunt, who escaped from North Korea. It is an impressive debut. show less

This starts basically enough, a woman starts taking down the life stories of residents of a nursing home to write their obituaries. It works as a form of talking therapy, keeps them engaged and gives her an escape from her situation. She has a number of tricks to get people started, such as give me 3 words to describe your life. Mrs Mook, when she comes to tell her story, uses 8. And we then go on to hear of the 8 lives that she describes. They cover the range of the almost 100 years of Korea's history, and they can get pretty uncomfortable reading. AT various times, Mrs Mook takes on other identities, such that you wonder f this could be one life. But in the final chapter the sense that this is all a life comes to the fore.
In the show more afterward it said that some of the chapter had previously been published as short stories, and I did feel that this may have worked better with some sort of linking passage to lead from one life to the next. But that's a minor quibble. The chapter from her daughter & son in law's perspective felt the most out of place, but that, too, served to explain more about the life we've been reading. This is, at times, a hard read, but that just serves to acknowledge that lives can be hard. It is mitigated by the fact that you know, from the first chapter, that she survives to tell this story. show less

I liked this well enough. I did think it was a bit too long towards the end, but I can’t say that I was ever bored. The non-linear storytelling worked to keep my interest and had some surprising moments.

Engrossing and rich in historical detail but so very tough in parts — especially the sex slavery during war time and the patriarchal physical abuse in childhood. This book was hard for me to read at times - I had to give myself breaks due to the intensity of subject matter.

Excellent novel of love, deceit, honesty and survival in Korea in the past century. The main character takes on many roles during her life, including murderer, spy and lover, to survive and try to take care of herself and those she loves.