Only half the time does Han actually make use of the translator with us. “I didn’t take Greek lessons either,” says Han, who is an easy conversationalist and generous with a smile. There was no particular reason, she clarifies – unlike the protagonist of Greek Lessons, whose therapist suggests, futilely, that her sudden muteness is a result of her mother dying and losing custody of her son. “Language was like a double-bladed sword that I really wanted to grasp, but it wasn’t possible,” she says, setting her teacup down and placing her palms around an invisible knife. Nor do they share the bloody ferocity of Human Acts (2014), a story that unfurls in the long shadow of a historical massacre.Įven now as Han, 52, describes that troublesome period during which she lost her “only medium”, her voice is soft but her metaphors are sharp, visceral, capable of drawing blood. Its pages contain nothing resembling the graphic self-harm and force-feeding of Han’s fable-like novel The Vegetarian, for which she received global recognition and the Man Booker International Prize in 2016. Greek Lessons, though, operates on a quieter register than her previous books. Written in 2011, the book is only now being published in English, following the success of Han’s other translated works. Its protagonist, having suddenly, mysteriously lost her ability to speak, finds solace in the classroom with her ancient Greek teacher who is, in turn, losing his sight. The words returned, but the experience left a mark – traces of which are all over her elliptical, resonant novel Greek Lessons. “Starting out as a poet, I’ve always felt that – but particularly that year, I felt it more. In truth, Han’s clean, masterful prose and subsequent critical acclaim have always belied a life-long struggle with language. “I couldn’t even watch things.” When the South Korean author tried, words evaded her she turned to documentaries, books about science. “I couldn’t write or read fiction,” she says. Han Kang: 'My speed of writing can’t catch the speed of what I have up here' (Shutterstock)įor one whole year, Han Kang found herself unable to write – a disturbing development for a prize-winning author with a novel on the go.

The vegetarian han kang sparknotes