The Foreign Student: A Novel

by Susan Choi

Book Overview

"This wonderful hybrid of a novel--a love story, a war story, a novel of manners--introduces a writer of enchanting gifts, a beautiful heart wedded to a beautiful imagination. How else does Susan Choi... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060929278
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A Novel That Stops Time

I usually dislike reading KA fiction because it gets irritating when authors write about Korea but describe the country with skewed, distorted myths about it's culture and history and auto-Orientalist themes that cater to the mainstream.Not so with this novel. I found myself completely lost in the story, not even caring about the "authenticity" issue because Choi does what all great writers do: she re-imagines and re-creates a palpable "real" universe that stops time. The fictional world transcends almost everything else I've read by Korean Americans, making you believe the characters, the location, the feelings. In short, it is a beautifully written novel and my personal favorite of all the Asian American novels I've read.That having been said, I am happy to attest that Choi does indeed write about the truth of the Korean War that goes against the conventional American myths about this unknown conflict. Choi does not hesitate to go into little known aspects of the war such as S. Korean President Syngman Rhee's execution of political prisoners and the Cheju/Yosu rebellions which took 100,000 lives even before the Korean War erupted in June 1950. Moreover, Choi depicts the Orientalist, racist experiences for Chang, a foreigner in America's South, and subtly links it to America's damaging foreign policies that warped Korea. She even resurrects a devastatingly convincing portrait of Gen. Hodge, the commander of the US military government in S. Korea--you can practically hear him breathing and speaking. This novel is startling in its audacity to depict America's occluded responsibility for the war that probably even challenges what most Koreans over 50 believe. As a former fact-checker for the New Yorker magazine, I suspect that she used her skills to do meticulous research into the origins of the Korean War. Having lived in Korea (and in Chicago, where her description of Clark and Belmont is right on) I am surpised by her accuracy and the "truth" of her details. I've read an article where Choi downplays the "authenticity" issue of her novel, and emphasizes that it is fiction. She's right, of course, but I am simply delighted that she has rendered a beautiful story that will not only impress the common reader, but satisfy those familiar with Korean history. Her research only heightens the pleasure of reading this gem of a novel.

East meets West meets South

THE FOREIGN STUDENT is a well crafted novel that deserves more attention than it received when it was initally released. Perhaps with the increasing interest in written works by Asians there will be a belated audience - author Choi deserves it. There were elements in reading Ha Jin's "The Bridegroom" stories that rang a responsive memory bell about Choi's book, encouraging a return to re-approach Choi's work. On second reading it gains in quality. Choi has quite successfully captured the sense of buried secrets carried by us all, but epitomized in her Chang, her Katherine, and the entire tenor of contemporary life in the South - both American and Korean. Similarites to the youthful struggle with ideolgies, loss, muted desire, resolution or dissipation.....Choi captures it all with smooth, elegant yet walloping writing. This is a fine novel.....let's hope more are coming.

OUTSTANDING

This is by far the best-written work I've come across that deals with issues inclduing the Korean War, Koreans in America, etc. But more than that, it's a novel of manners about the South in the 1950's. I'd given up on a lot of stuff that is categorized under "Asian American fiction," but this is one of those novels that you don't want to put down. It's beautifully written, evocative, and the best novel--in any category-- that I've read in years.

The _Creep_ of Love

There's no doubt that Choi is a fine writer. Her descriptive powers are phenomenal; line by line, this novel is a gem. But what really stands out in this debut is Choi's intense psychological digging of her two main characters. To say that she gets into their heads would be a great understatement. When you read this book, you live these two characters' lives -- and goodness, what lonely lives they lead. I think that's why the scenes between Chuck and Katherine smolder -- because they are two lonely people fighting their own battles through their love for each other. For me, the best part of the book was seeing the _creep_ of love, the way it climbs like ivy -- slowly and in tangles, its resilience and its power to bore through -- even through the stone exteriors of these two characters.Furthermore, I believe this is the first work to actually use the Korean War as a significant backdrop. Kudos for you, Ms. Choi -- somebody had to do it, and I'm glad it was you, because you did it right.

A+. Susan Choi captures the essence of rural American

A+. Like an addiction! I love this book. Susan Choi captures the essence of rural America in her odd, thrilling first novel. Choi has cooked up two radically distinct story lines, each one wonderful. With its longing, thoughtful prose, Katherine's tale reveals a woman whose life revolves around a single daring act, while Chang's story is a devastaing unveiling of pain. In the scene where Katherine confronts Chang in the Silliman dining hall, Choi cunningly reheats an observation first made by the lyricist Anton Regalado "Men and lions can die. Kingdoms fall and time will end. Only our pride survives." Powerful characters, keenly drawn emotions--a feast. I can't wait for the next serving from Choi!