If you are finding your tbr list is looking a little repetitive, then here is some prose to liven it up. The White Book by Han Kang contains many beautiful passages and poems that flow and sing on the page, making the novel a breeze to get through. The themes, imagery, characters, and ideas breath life into this short story and are well worth a couple hours of your time.

While on a writer’s residency, a nameless narrator focuses on the colour white to creatively channel her inner pain. Through lyrical, interconnected stories, she grapples with the tragedy that has haunted her family, attempting to make sense of her older sister’s death using the colour white. From trying to imagine her mother’s first time producing breast milk to watching the snow fall and meditating on the impermanence of life, she weaves a poignant, heartfelt story of the omnipresence of grief and the ways we perceive the world around us. In captivating, starkly beautiful language, The White Book offers a multilayered exploration of colour and its absence, of the tenacity and fragility of the human spirit, and of our attempts to graft new life from the ashes of destruction.

Unlike Human Acts, this story has a single voice that guides us through the settings, themes and ideas drawn up by the narrator. The exploration of colour and sensory engagement, keeping to the very simple yet profound and powerful details of life, makes this novel mundane yet fantastical. There is a magic to the way Han Kang describes, illustrates, and punctuates life and its happenings. What would be ordinary becomes extraordinary. Boring becomes brand-new. she has an expert way of dressing up the world around us in light and darkness, drawing out specifics to stand out against the normality of the day. It is impressive and highly aspirational.

The poems and prose flow effortlessly, but one thing I will note is that, while the overarching themes and intentions are present, they don’t feel as concrete and impactful as other elements of her work. The effectiveness of her musicality and flow has its own impact, and the shifting focus through the work carries its own weight. But what is the purpose? What is the final intention? Is this a response? A goodbye? An acknowledgment? I am not quite sure what the point of it is, and as beautiful as the writing is, I struggle to connect with it for that reason. I am a reader who finds purpose necessary to be immersed and moved by a story. While Han Kang has the writing prowess that rivals some of the best out there, I can’t say that The White Book has a point to it that resonates with me.

This doesn’t mean I will be saying no to Han Kang’s works in the future – I already have The Vegetarian and We Do Not Part in my library requests. It also doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recommend The White Book to people. If you are a literary fiction fan, a poetic prose appreciator, or even a poetry and short story sampler, then I recommend The White Book to you. It is stunning work, beautiful prose, and emotion-provoking writing that everyone should read.