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    One Thousand Chestnut Trees
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    One Thousand Chestnut Trees
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    One Thousand Chestnut Trees
    Ebook387 pages5 hours

    One Thousand Chestnut Trees

    By Mira Stout

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    An epic tale of an enigmatic land – Korea – and one woman’s search for her past.

    Uncle Hong-do arrives in Vermont from Korea to see the sister he has never met, a concert violinist long settled in America. His colourful visit turns his teenage niece Anna’s world upside down, disrupting her cosy existence with his eccentric customs, forcing into it a fresh and intriguing tang of Korea. Then, too soon, he returns to Seoul.

    When Anna leaves for the orient many years later to uncover her family’s elusive history, her departure stirs up vivid, shocking memories for her mother, of her gilded childhood in Korea and the story of her noble clan’s fall from power.

    Long ago, her grandfather, Lord Min, commanded his own private armies and his vast estates straddled North and South. In defiance of centuries of barbarous invasions – by the Japanese, Manchus, and finally the Communists – he built a temple high in the mountains, and planted one thousand chestnut trees to shield it from view. Now, generations later, his trees call back his great-granddaughter, and Anna sets out with Uncle Hong-do to find the hidden temple.

    A powerful mixture of memoir and fiction – the Wild Swans of Korea.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateDec 20, 2012
    ISBN9780007441174
    Unavailable
    One Thousand Chestnut Trees
    Author

    Mira Stout

    MIRA STOUT’s internationally acclaimed first novel, One Thousand Chestnut Trees, was nominated for the IMPAC award, first runner up for the Shiva Naipaul Award and chosen for the New York Public Library 'Books for the New Year'. Her long-awaited second novel, Moon Trees is soon to be published. Her first play, A Cool Dry Place was developed by The National Theatre Studio and by The Old Vic. She is developing two film projects, and lives in London.

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    Reviews for One Thousand Chestnut Trees

    4/5

    31 ratings3 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Seriously my friends this was one exquisite read. I'm in mourning that it's over.

      One Thousand Chestnut Trees is beautifully written, ornately so with rich detailed characters, and it is deeply insightful. If you know me well, you'll know that over the past few years I've immersed myself in Asian literature and that I'm particularly keen on reading everything and anything I can about the separation of Korea. l naively thought I had a good understanding but in this one little novel I was left with a fuller picture not only of what turmoil Koreans have experienced this century but also of what defines Koreanness. Stout manages to show us this while weaving a personal family story throughout. A powerful combination of memoir and fiction :)

      I would recommend this book wholeheartedly <3
    • 4/5
      Any history of Korea is tragic, violent and sad. This family account is very moving. The ending was a disappointing anticlimax, as it was for her.
    • 5/5
      One Thousand Chestnut Trees, Korean/American writer Mira Stout’s first novel, is semi-autobiographical and tells the story of a young New York artist, Anna, tracing her Korean roots. It is a stirring tale, told by Anna, her mother and her grandfather and combines Korea's epic history with a family legacy and a personal exploration. It was nominated for the IMPAC award, first runner up for the Shiva Naipaul Award and chosen for the New York Public Library 'Books for the New Year'. I was woefully ignorant of Korea, her history and her peoples before I read this book. I found the book enlightening and moving. The story is told stylishly and with great skill. Engrossing and educational: a great read!