The second novel from the critically acclaimed New York
Times-bestselling author Chang-rae Lee.
His remarkable debut novel was called rapturous (The New York Times
Book Review), revelatory (Vogue), and wholly innovative (Kirkus
Reviews). It was the recipient of six major awards, including the
prestigious Hemingway Foundation/PEN award. Now Chang-rae Lee has
written a powerful and beautifully crafted second novel that leaves no
doubt about the extraordinary depth and range of his talent.
A Gesture Life is the story of a proper man, an upstanding citizen who
has come to epitomize the decorous values of his New York suburban town.
Courteous, honest, hardworking, and impenetrable, Franklin Hata, a
Japanese man of Korean birth, is careful never to overstep his
boundaries and to make his neighbors comfortable in his presence. Yet as
his story unfolds, precipitated by the small events surrounding him, we
see his life begin to unravel. Gradually we learn the mystery that has
shaped the core of his being: his terrible, forbidden love for a young
Korean Comfort Woman when he served as a medic in the Japanese army
during World War II.
In A Gesture Life, Chang-rae Lee leads us with dazzling control
through a taut, suspenseful story about love, family, and community--and
the secrets we harbor. As in Native Speaker, he writes of the ways
outsiders conform in order to survive and the price they pay for doing
so. It is a haunting, breathtaking display of talent by an acclaimed
young author.
