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The End of August
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Sue Jean Kim
- Length: 28 hrs and 16 mins
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The End of August
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Publisher's Summary
From the National Book Award winning author, an extraordinary, ground-breaking, epic multi-generational novel about a Korean family living under Japanese occupation.
In 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea, Lee Woo-cheol was a running prodigy and a contender for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. But he would have had to run under the Japanese flag.
Nearly a century later, his granddaughter is living in Japan and training to run a marathon herself. She summons Korean shamans to hold an intense, transcendent ritual to connect with Lee Woo-cheol. When his ghost appears, alongside those of his brother Lee Woo-Gun, and their young neighbor, who was forced to become a comfort woman to Japanese soldiers stationed in China during World War II, she must uncover their stories to free their souls. What she discovers is at the heart of this sweeping, majestic novel about a family that endured death, love, betrayal, war, political upheaval, and ghosts, both vengeful and wistful.
A poetic masterpiece that is a feat of historical fiction, epic family saga, and mind-bending story-telling acrobatics, The End of August is a marathon of literature.
What the critics say
"Sue Jean Kim performs National Book Award-winning (TOKYO UENO STATION) author Yu Miri's new novel.... Kim perfectly delivers the rhythms of the many large sections of poetic prose. Her performance highlights her incredible range." (AudioFile)
"Commanding... Yu’s passion for rescuing history from violence is palpable on every page." —Kirkus
“Artful and kinetic…This has a power of its own.” —Publishers Weekly
“Morgan Giles' translation of Yu Miri's The End of August reads at a breathlessly swift pace despite, or because of, the painstakingly meticulous care put into every word and line. Yu's rich storytelling never loses its pace as Giles relays her depiction of the resilience of the Korean nation through the tragic consequences of colonialism that reverberate to this day.” —Anton Hur