Mia Kim's debut novel, ME, THEN, set in Sixties post-war Korea, is a harrowing story of Su-young's life with her aunt and her family. After a series of disastrous stays in various foster homes, the five year old Su-young, an illegitimate child, a lasting stigma in traditionalist Korea, hopes to find a stable home with her aunt. Her mother works and lives at an American army base on the outskirts of Seoul and visits Su-young at weekends. But the visits come to an abrupt end when her mother marries a US Army soldier and flies to America, leaving Su-young behind. And soon, her aunt's family's fortunes turn for the worse. Her aunt cuts off all contact between Su-young and her mother and steals all monies sent for Su-young's care and education. A few months of separation turn into seven years. Alone in a hostile environment of deprivation and abuse, Su-young spirals down. Her only refuge is her love of music. Su-young's fight for survival will hold the reader in suspense until the final page.
MIA KIM grew up in Seoul, Korea. She has a Masters degree from Eastman School of Music. As an accomplished artist, Kim has had several sold out exhibitions of her paintings in New York. ME, THEN is her debut novel. Kim lives in Connecticut, USA.
Title: Me, Then
Author: Kim, Mia
ISBN: 9780413778413
Binding:
Publisher: Methuen Publishing Ltd
Publication Date: 2021-07-01
Number of Pages:
Weight: 0.7882 kg
In ME, THEN Mia Kim effectively guides the reader through more harrowing twists and turns in her protagonist's life as hardships continue, right up to the final pages. This suspenseful and moving work sparkles with figurative language, which is the work's primary strength, and it creates a vivid picture - an affecting and well-crafted historical tale, Kirkus Reviews, December 2021..............................; ME, THEN is a gem of a novel. A modest stone, but engagingly faceted, and beautifully set. It does what all great literature hopes to do, and transports the reader to an unfamiliar world, effortlessly enticing them to live in it awhile, to the gentle benefit of their own humanity. Its prose is Hemingway lean, yet carries a McCullers' charge. It speaks with clarity the words unspoken by its young protagonist, and page by page reveals an aspirant heart and a determined mind that one will never care to forget. It is a divinely empathetic read; a sipping cup of shared experience. I highly recommend it. TERRY JOHNSON, Olivier Award winning dramatist..............................; ME, THEN is an amazing accomplishment. Although set in Korea in the 1960's, the story is at once universal and timeless. It is like something from Charles Dickens in the best possible sense-an epic chronicle of a child's suffering and passage through a crazy but thoroughly human mess of a family. My hat is off to Mia Kim for creating a saga that is wholly authentic and real and that conveys emotions and story power with eloquent simplicity. It's a gift of empathy and courage to anyone who reads it. STEVEN PRESSFIELD, New York Times bestselling author of The Legend of Bagger Vance and Gates of Fire..............................; Deftly paced and beautifully written, ME, THEN is an emotionally gripping cultural immersion. Su-Young, the brave and compelling young Korean protagonist, seems reminiscent of characters from Dickens or the Brontes, facing the same relentless childhood adversity: poverty, abandonment, isolation. A captivating story that lingers far beyond the final pages. BRUNONIA BARRY, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader..............................; Written in powerful, gripping, lyrical prose, ME, THEN is an immersive, heart-wrenching dive into a young girl's quest for a better life. An utterly unforgettable read, Su-young's story resonates long after the final page. ALYSON NOEL, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortals..............................; As a crime author, normally I would have little interest in a story about a vulnerable, young Korean girl growing up in Seoul. But from the first page of Mia Kim's ME, THEN I was hooked. This novel evoked all my emotions, a rollercoaster ride only possible when an author brings believability and authenticity to a narrative set in an unfamiliar world. An incredible story that haunts you until its final scene. LOWELL CAUFFIEL, New York Times bestselling author of House of Secrets
