"Vivid snapshots from the Korean War and surreal encounters with ghosts intersect in the first major US release by award-winning Korean novelist Sok-yong ... an ambitious exploration of a postwar survivor's chaotic psyche."
–Publishers Weekly "Expert, idiomatic translation renders visible a story that helps explain the present weirdness in North Korea ... [T]he story with its great insight into the region, is deeply rewarding."
–Kirkus Reviews
"Hwang Sok-Yong is the most committed, politically active writer of all those who have translated the Korean in recent years."
–Liberation "Writing that refuses to ignore suffering, but at the same time refuses to let itself be destroyed by destruction–which is a great challenge to any author."
–Le Figaro Litteraire
"A provocative novel ... with a subtle power. [Hwang] takes the reader to the edge of a gruesome scene, then steps back and focuses on the sort of mundane detail that sticks in one's mind more firmly than any blood-splattered image."
–TimeASIA
