A delicate, timeless, and breathtaking coming-of-age story.
The critically acclaimed and award-winning cartoonist Keum Suk
Gendry-Kim returns with a stunning addition to her body of graphic
fiction rooted in Korean history. Adapted from Park Wan-seo's beloved
novel, The Naked Tree paints a stark portrait of a single nation's
fabric slowly torn to shreds by political upheaval and armed conflict.
The year is 1951. Twenty-year-old wallflower Lee Kyung ekes out a living
at the US Post Exchange, where goods and services of varying stripe are
available for purchase. She peddles hand-painted portraits on silk
handkerchiefs to soldiers passing through. When a handsome young
northern escapee and erstwhile fine artist is hired despite waning
demand, an unlikely friendship blossoms into a young woman's first brush
with desire against the backdrop of the Korean War at its most
devastating.
Gendry-Kim brings a masterpiece of world literature to life with bold,
expressive lines that capture a denuded landscape brutally forced into
transition and the people who must find their way back to each other
within it. Available for the first time in English, this edition of The
Naked Tree is exquisitely translated by award-winning expert Janet
Hong.
