Actos humanos

In May 1980, the South Korean army crushed a civilian uprising in the city of Gwangju. Han Kang builds her novel around Dong-ho, a teenage boy who helps volunteers identify and tend the bodies piling up in a gymnasium. Each chapter shifts to someone else touched by the events, among them a friend who died, an editor facing censorship, a survivor of torture, and a mother, so the violence is seen across decades rather than in one moment.

Readers who want literary fiction about state violence and memory will find it direct and restrained. It suits anyone interested in modern Korean history, or those who have read Han Kang's The Vegetarian and want to see how she handles a real event.

Deep, inward-looking, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?