The White Book Audiobook By Han Kang, Deborah Smith cover art

The White Book

A Novel

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The White Book

By: Han Kang, Deborah Smith
Narrated by: Jennifer Kim
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About this listen

FROM HAN KANG, WINNER OF THE 2024 NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE

“[Han Kang writes in] intense poetic prose that . . . exposes the fragility of human life.”—from the Nobel Prize citation

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • A “formally daring, emotionally devastating, and deeply political” (The New York Times Book Review) exploration of personal grief through the prism of the color white, from the internationally bestselling author of The Vegetarian

“Stunningly beautiful writing . . . delicate and gorgeous . . . one of the smartest reflections on what it means to remember those we’ve lost.”—NPR

While on a writer’s residency, a nameless narrator focuses on the color white to creatively channel her inner pain. Through lyrical, interconnected stories, she grapples with the tragedy that has haunted her family, attempting to make sense of her older sister’s death using the color white. From trying to imagine her mother’s first time producing breast milk to watching the snow fall and meditating on the impermanence of life, she weaves a poignant, heartfelt story of the omnipresence of grief and the ways we perceive the world around us.

In captivating, starkly beautiful language, The White Book offers a multilayered exploration of color and its absence, of the tenacity and fragility of the human spirit, and of our attempts to graft new life from the ashes of destruction.

©2019 Han Kang (P)2019 Random House Audio
Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological World Literature
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Critic reviews

“A brilliant psychogeography of grief, moving as it does between place, history and memory . . . Poised and never flinches from serene dignity . . . The White Book is a mysterious text, perhaps in part a secular prayer book. . . . Translated peerlessly by Smith, [it] succeeds in reflecting Han’s urgent desire to transcend pain with language.”The Guardian

“With eloquence and grace, Han breathes life into loss and fills the emptiness with this new work.”Library Journal

“Everything I ever thought about the color white has been profoundly altered by reading Han Kang’s brilliant exploration of its meaning and the ways in which white shapes her world, from birth to death—including the death of The White Book’s narrator’s older sister, who died just a few hours after she was born, in her mother’s arms. This is an unforgettable meditation on grief and memory, resilience and acceptance, all offered up in Han’s luminous, intimate prose.”Nylon

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Delightful Listen

Poetic tapestry of images and emotions. I found this creative and heartfelt. Have listened to this more than once.

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Really nice story

It was a very interesting, calm story to listen to and made me think a lot.

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Great story!

Wow I'm siked! Lets make it another; I would love to hear more from this author.

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I'm not smart enough to review this lol

I liked it. I feel like there is a ton of symbolism. I guarantee an English teacher can make students hate this book.
But jokes aside, the narrator was phenomenal, the book content was great. applause for everyone involved

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