
Lost Names
Scenes from a Korean Boyhood
Richard E. Kim(Author)
University of California Press
2nd Edition
Published on 29. March 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-0-520-26812-8 (ISBN)
Description
In this classic tale, Richard E. Kim paints seven vivid scenes from a boyhood and early adolescence in Korea at the height of the Japanese occupation, 1932 to 1945. Taking its title from the grim fact that the occupiers forced the Koreans to renounce their own names and adopt Japanese names instead, the book follows one Korean family through the Japanese occupation to the surrender of the Japanese empire. "Lost Names" is at once a loving memory of family and a vivid portrayal of life in a time of anguish.
Reviews / Votes
"Lost Names is not a poem of hate, but a poem of love. . . . It is elegaic. It rises to moments of considerable dramatic power, but its finest moments, as when we see the cemeteries full of Koreans apologizing to their ancestors for having lost their names, are lyrical." * New York Times * "The author's clear, evocative narrative describes a terrifying experience-foreign occupation. Its homely detail demonstrates how pervasive nationality is, and how painful any attempt to destroy it." * New Yorker * "This memorable document of courage and endurance is written with clarity and vigor, pierced with moments of poignant love and the blazing resentment of the young." * Saturday Review *More details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
273 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-26812-8 (9780520268128)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2014
2nd Edition
University of California Press
€14.49
Available for download
Previous edition

Book
06/1998
1st Edition
University of California Press
€16.04
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Richard E. Kim (1932 - 2009) was a celebrated novelist, essayist, documentary filmmaker, and professor of literature at University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Syracuse University, San Diego State University, and at Seoul National University. He was founder and president of Trans-Lit Agency, a literary agency devoted to establishing international copyright for works being published in Korea. His books include The Martyred (nominated for the National Book Award), The Innocent , and Lost Koreans in China and the Soviet Union: Photo Essays . He was recipient of the Ford Foundation Foreign Area Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts Literary Fellowship.
Content
Preface to the Fortieth Anniversary Edition
Crossing
Homecoming
Once upon a Time, on a Sunday
Lost Names
An Empire for Rubber Balls
"Is Someone Dying?"
In the Making of History-Together
Author's Note
Crossing
Homecoming
Once upon a Time, on a Sunday
Lost Names
An Empire for Rubber Balls
"Is Someone Dying?"
In the Making of History-Together
Author's Note