Today, we’re talking about a wizard of words who has just been crowned with the most prestigious honor in the literary world, and her book that touches the finest strings of the soul. As you know, Han Kang made history in 2024 by becoming the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Having been shaken by The Vegetarian and felt the weight of history with Human Acts, Kang now invites us to a bond sprouting in the midst of silence and darkness: “Greek Lessons.”
The Intersection of Two Wounded Souls
A classroom in Seoul… On the blackboard, a teacher explaining an ancient, no-longer-spoken language—Greek—and a student silently watching him.
In this novel, Han Kang brings together two “losses.” On one side, a young woman trying to speak but who has completely lost her voice; on the other, a man on the threshold of blindness, whose light is gradually fading. One can no longer hear the world, while the other is beginning to lose sight of it. Yet these two deficiencies meet at the most fragile point of being human—on the shore of “language” and “heart.”
While narrating the pressure that macro and micro powers exert on individuals, the author this time focuses on the miracle of human touch and understanding.
A Love Letter on Pain and Healing
The book asks the reader this piercing question: “How can the pain of a creature called human be so unique when the creature itself is so ordinary?”
Can the fading light of the man losing his sight and the silence of the woman who has lost her voice build a new world? Han Kang answers this question with a “yes”—but not a loud “yes” in the usual sense. It is a bond built by touching, feeling, and going beyond words. Greek Lessons is an elegant love letter written to human healing, the power of language, and the warmth of touch.
Why Should You Read It?
Han Kang elevates to its peak the poetic, mind- and emotion-laden, clean and sharp language we’ve seen in works like The White Book and We Do Not Part. If you’re seeking a reading experience that goes beyond the senses, you must join this journey from darkness to light, from silence to breath.
Don’t forget to add this novel—where hearts speak when words end—to your list.
Happy reading!
