The White Book

A 22-year-old woman gave birth prematurely to a baby girl who lived for only two hours. Her desperate mother’s only request, that her daughter not die, was not granted. Later, the family had a healthy baby girl. The White Book is her story. The narrator dedicates it to her deceased older sister. She describes white things that she associates with her own memories and experiences. Through the narrative, she confronts the trauma of loss. She feels responsibility, duty, and guilt towards her sister, because without her death, their mother might not have decided to have another child. This lyrical, melancholic story is based on the author’s experience of her older sister’s death. The author has received many literary awards for her work, and in 2024, Han Kang also became the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. (EZ)