The Naked Tree
Park Wan-suh · 1931–2011 · South Korea
Originally Namok (Korean) · translated by Yu Young-nan
Why it matters
A young woman working an American army PX during the Korean War is drawn to an older, war-shattered painter numbing his grief in cheap portraiture. Park's prize-winning debut, written at forty from the wreckage of her own wartime years.
At a glance
war novelautobiographical fictionpsychological novel
Difficulty 5/10medium pace210 pagesA quietly interior wartime narrative builds through mood and restraint rather than incident.
