The Surrendered
ABOUT
THE BOOK
June Han was only a girl when the Korean War left her orphaned; Hector Brennan was a young GI who fled the petty tragedies of his small town to serve his country. When the war ended, their lives collided at a Korean orphanage where they vied for the attentions of Sylvie Tanner, the beautiful yet deeply damaged missionary wife whose elusive love seemed to transform everything. Thirty years later and on the other side of the world, June and Hector are reunited in a plot that will force them to come to terms with the mysterious secrets of their past, and the shocking acts of love and violence that bind them together.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Lee’s masterful, harmonically, well-crafted novel, documents and dramatises human suffering and anguish. It also highlights the indelible social impact and ravages of war. A powerful story of intertwined lives of a Korean woman and her once-saviour. Their shocking past enters their present as both lives develop toward death & desolation. Memories of the Korean War show people’s incredible capacity to survive, despite the wounds. Happy endings aren’t always realistic, this novel enthrals as it forces us to reflect on the characters’ experiences. Literary merit.