ABOUT
THE BOOK

Following three generations of the Min family, One Thousand Chestnut Trees takes the stories of the narrator’s mother and grandmother and creates a picture of Korea and its traumatic history during the past century. Anna’s journey into their stories and Korea’s history begins with the arrival, in Vermont, of her Uncle Hong-do. Her world is turned-upside-down as she is drawn into the world of her ancestral homeland. Grappling with the problems of mixed-race identity, and evocative of language and landscape, One Thousand Chestnut Trees brings Korea’s cultured civilisation into focus. Mira Stout was born in New York City and has lived in France, Italy and England. She has contributed to a large number of publications, including Vanity Fair and the Spectator: this is her first book.