Sad Peninsula
Will be published approx. on 13. November 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-4597-0925-6 (ISBN)
Description
A Canadian ex-pat and a Korean former "comfort woman," each scarred by their pasts, seek redemption.
Two separate lives become connected in South Korea: traumatized former Korean "comfort woman" Eun-young, who struggles with her past of rape and violence; and Michael, a troubled young Canadian arriving in Korea to teach ESL, whose principles and humanity are tested by Seoul's seedy expatriate underbelly. A world away and two generations apart, their lives collide through the fiery Jin, who challenges stereotypes of her race and gender as well as Michael's morality.
Through meticulously crafted and heart-wrenching prose, Sad Peninsula takes the reader across oceans and decades, outlining the boundaries between seduction and coercion, between love and destruction, between a past that can't be undone and a future that seems just out of reach.
Two separate lives become connected in South Korea: traumatized former Korean "comfort woman" Eun-young, who struggles with her past of rape and violence; and Michael, a troubled young Canadian arriving in Korea to teach ESL, whose principles and humanity are tested by Seoul's seedy expatriate underbelly. A world away and two generations apart, their lives collide through the fiery Jin, who challenges stereotypes of her race and gender as well as Michael's morality.
Through meticulously crafted and heart-wrenching prose, Sad Peninsula takes the reader across oceans and decades, outlining the boundaries between seduction and coercion, between love and destruction, between a past that can't be undone and a future that seems just out of reach.
Reviews / Votes
The fact that readers are so emotionally engaged in discovering the answers to [the novel's] questions indicates that the author has done a lot right here. * Quill & Quire * [H]arrowing and deeply moving . . . * Publishers Weekly * Sampson deftly negotiates the varying chapters and their viewpoints, surprising us with character revelations without tipping into melodrama, and forcing us to look more closely when we might prefer to turn away. * Winnipeg Free Press * "[A] fabulously rich picture of expat life ... [C]omplex and original" * The Literary Review of Canada * Meticulously crafted, moving, and hard to put down. * The Sun-Times * Mark Sampson...is a good, vivid writer. * The Guardian *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
500 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4597-0925-6 (9781459709256)
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
Person
Mark Sampson is the author of Off Book and several short stories and poems in literary journals across Canada. He holds a master's degree in English from the University of Manitoba and a journalism degree from the University of King's College. Originally from Prince Edward Island, he currently lives in Toronto.