Snow Hunters: A Novel
Yoon’s debut novel (following his beautiful short story collection, Once the Shore, 2009) follows the experiences of Yohan, a North Korean prisoner of war, on his path toward creating a new life in spite of his tragic past. At the end of the Korean War, 25-year-old Yohan, having spent two years in a South Korean war camp, declines to return to his home country and immigrates to Brazil. He arrives in a coastal town where arrangements have been made for him to work as an apprentice to an elderly Japanese tailor. As the years pass, Yohan’s life in Brazil is punctuated by harrowing memories from his time in the camp as well as experiences from his youth. While loss and loneliness imbue many of his reflections, Yohan finds solace—and hope—in his new surroundings and relationships. Among his circle are a genial groundskeeper of the local church and two young vagrants who flit in and out of Yohan’s life. Yohan’s journey is one of loss, memory, and identity, and Yoon’s delicate prose creates a haunting perspective. --Leah Strauss