Pros: A wonderful introduction to Korean Literature. Reading is not a chore here, it's a delight.
Cons: Can't think of any.
The Bottom Line: This Korean classic follows the themes of books such as Lord of the Flies, showing us the evil that men do, but also pondering why we let them do it.
ATOM's Full Review: Mun-Yol Yi, Kevin O'Rourke, Yi Munyol - Our Twiste...
Quick! Name a Korean writer.
Yeah, I couldn’t either. And no lifeline would have helped narrow the choices.
But if Regis does ever ask me to choose amongst A, B, C, or D, I‘ll know now whom to contact, translator Father Kevin O’Rourke and his friends at Hyperion East. They could name that author in one note: Yi. That is, in three more notes, YI Munyol. Readers in the States now have an English translation of Yi’s novella A Twisted Hero. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a beautiful publishing relationship between Yi and Hyperion East, because if this novella is any indication of what to expect from Yi, my book budget will continue to be broken. (Wait a second, maybe “hopefully” wasn’t the correct word to use here?)
Winner of numerous literary awards in his country of South Korea, Yi’s Our Twisted Hero contributes to the theme of group psychology chronicled in Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by OE Kenzaburo and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Our narrator is a recently de-Seouled youth, HAN Pyongt’ae, who has transferred to a rural school due to his father being held in disfavor by his previous superiors. Entering with expectations soon to be demoralized, Han quickly learns his city boy logic and connections will not serve him here. He will eventually see that it is OM Sokdae who rules this classroom through subtle manipulative means.
Han initially resists this rule, trying hard to bring to light the dictatorial tactics of Om. But he is alone in his efforts and Om is a clever, balanced leader, knowing when to pull back and when to ask others to march forward. He’s broken wolves like this before, such as members of the pack that are now loyal labs behind him. Han’s need for companionship and fears of alienation eventually encourage him to join the others in submission to Om‘s desires. But soon after he joins, a new teacher enters at the head of the class and challenges the children towards revolution. What results is questioned by our narrator as well. Not that it would be better to bring back Om’s rule, but that one feels much still remains unresolved.
Here in lies one of the beauties of this novella, the lack of sentimentality for all that transpires. I much prefer my morals ambiguous and Yi makes everything ambiguous. He lays before you what might be good, what might be bad, alluding to what’s hidden beneath the surface, offering doubts in the parts all characters play. Our narrator is equally critical of the “democracy” that arises from the revolution against totalitarianism. Our narrator is critical of his part in the whole while less willing to solely evil Om. Yi’s PostModernism consistently challenges the mores that meet the Is.
Reading a translated piece, I always wonder how the work would feel in the hands of the original language. Are there nuances in this novella that only those who dream in Korean can understand?
Personally, I find Korean to be a beautiful language. I find myself responding to it as Western culture expects me to respond to French or Italian. A friend of mine, when teaching English to Korean children while studying abroad in Korea, tried to explain to the children what was so impressive about Dr. Seuss. “See, it rhymes,“ she said with that lift at the end of a sentence that hopes to encourage appreciation. The two boys she was trying to impress looked at one another in unifying glances, than turned to my friend with “So What?” and said, “ Everything rhymes in Korean.“
Although not completely true, Korean does have an inherent rhyme to it. Sentences so often end in sounds of saw, so, eee, oh, and gah that it seems possible to make any sentence rhyme with any other. Korean leans towards alliterative and assonant possibilities that remain unheard in English.
Along with the poetry that may be lost, there are the word plays and cultural nuances that may be missed by those of us who can’t tell hangul from kanji. But Father Kevin O’Rourke has been able to bring to us the beauty that transcends language. Yi wonderfully lays out the intricacies of the psychology and sociology of groups. The reader feels the frustration and longing of Han to expose Om and later seek membership into the only community he has available. The irony of pseudo-intimacy in submission is clearly drawn out through Yi’s gifted narration.
But Yi does not let us keep the lessons as peculiar to childhood, but shows us the adult variations on the themes. Those more familiar than I with the Kwangju Massacre may find Han’s mention of the class’s revolution erupting around the same time more powerful. And those who watch Survivor other than where I do, which is while seesawing away on the gym Nordic Track as I gaze away from the physical pain to the muted TV screen above, may find amusing parallels between Han’s classroom and those in the fishbowl of the Australian Outback.
And it is perhaps Yi, Oe, Golding, and other authors who have focused on the theme of the mob mentality that can provide us better insight than the love/hate conversations of our media into why Survivor is such a phenomenon. My PostModern self appreciates Our Twisted Hero for the clear dismantling of the weak pillars of the either/or-ing Modernism too often wrought upon us. No one is safe from Han’s criticism. Not Han, not the reader. We see that all “heroes” are twisted. Twisted by the dementia that power causes; and twisted by the moral contortions reality Milton-Bradleys us into as we choose the least compromising right-leg-red. Most often, there is no perfect red circle for our right leg to seek out. We merely need to choose the one that still allows us to hold the balance of our values without precipitating a future fall that would bring others tumbling down with us.
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