Stephanie Jane reviewed Nowhere to Be Found by Sora Kim-Russell
Uncomfortably graphic
5 stars
Nowhere To Be Found is a Korean novella that depicts a few events during one year of a young woman's life. As the book is small, so these events are small, yet through reading the heroine's descriptions I gained an uncomfortably graphic account of her poverty and her family's struggle to survive. Early on, Suah writes of her protagonist's temporary office job as being a minor cog in a machine, the cog eventually being worn down and becoming so embedded in its role that it cannot aim for any other. This theme is expanded by our never learning the young woman's name. We discover very intimate details of her life but, at the same time, she could be anybody.
I particularly liked the day when the woman takes chicken to her soldier boyfriend as this episode summed up a lot of the book for me. She treks many miles unsuitably …
Nowhere To Be Found is a Korean novella that depicts a few events during one year of a young woman's life. As the book is small, so these events are small, yet through reading the heroine's descriptions I gained an uncomfortably graphic account of her poverty and her family's struggle to survive. Early on, Suah writes of her protagonist's temporary office job as being a minor cog in a machine, the cog eventually being worn down and becoming so embedded in its role that it cannot aim for any other. This theme is expanded by our never learning the young woman's name. We discover very intimate details of her life but, at the same time, she could be anybody.
I particularly liked the day when the woman takes chicken to her soldier boyfriend as this episode summed up a lot of the book for me. She treks many miles unsuitably dressed for the cold, is messed around by officials leading to more hours journeying, her boyfriend completely fails to acknowledge the efforts she has made, and yet her ultimate reaction is incredibly conservative considering the provocation. I found this almost-acceptance of her life very sad to read. The somewhat stark use of language reinforces the whole feel of the book for me - it is what it is.
I think I did miss out on some of the subtleties of Nowhere To Be Found by my not having a great knowledge of Korean culture and daily life. The speeches about anti-weapons demonstrations seemed awkward to me. However, the impersonal message that we cannot escape our predestination is an interesting one to ponder. The woman occasionally catches glimpses of herself passing by in a better life, but believes that reality cannot be hers. Her brother wants to try working in Japan but the travel costs seem insurmountable. Her mother is already resigned.
I enjoyed the opportunity to read this novella, actually reading it twice over two days. I think it could be taken very differently depending on the mood of the reader: a positive outlook seeing it as incentive to strive, a negative outlook seeing more of a reason why not to bother. Perhaps Nowhere To Be Found would make an interesting Book Club choice?
