The Guest

North Korea has long accused American troups of a horrible slaughter of innocent civilians in Sincheon during the Korean War. Korean author Hwang Sok-yong tells a different story, reportedly based on interviews and a personal visit to North Korea. As told in this book, bitter fighting between communists and anti-communist "Christians" was the cause. This book is moving but difficult to read. It is written in the style of a 12-step exorcism with frequent appearances by ghosts. The narration abruptly jumps from character to character, from the living to the dead, and from past to present, without transition or explanation, leaving the reader struggling to discover who is speaking. It reads much like a disconnected dream, done deliberately as a literary device. Some familiarity with Korean culture and modern Korean history is a help, but a reader is left with a constant sense of uncertainty about what is happening. The language is harsh and occasionally vulgar, especially coming from the main character who is a Christian minister. Violent acts are frequently and graphically described. I would recommend this book to serious students of Korea, but not as a casual or light read. It is a window into the darkness that has divided Korea for 50 years, and raises the sobering possibility that this darkness was in part self-inflicted.