The Good Man: A Novel [Hardcover]

Edward Jae-Suk Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2004

A soldier's story, one particulary timely amid the news of abuse in Iraq. It is the beautifully and poignantly told story of Gabriel Cuttman, an aging Korean War veteran, a good man who has done bad things and is struggling by a terrible secret.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An aging, damaged Korean War veteran returns to his native Montana to come to terms with his complex romantic past in Lee's powerful debut. After 40 years away, Gabriel Guttman returns to the Montana valley where he grew up, and where he left two women: one, Emily Cottage, the love of his youth, and the other a Korean woman (never named) whom he brought back to the U.S. after the war. The intervening years are a blur to Gabriel-a gunshot wound a few years back (probably self-inflicted, though he can't remember for sure) has left him one-eyed and muddle-headed. He soon learns that Emily Cottage is dead, and when he tracks down the Korean woman and joins her on the ranch where she's been living, he discovers that she has a teenage spitfire of a daughter named Yahng Yi. Deftly weaving together present and past, Lee repeatedly returns to the My Lai-like incident that brought Gabriel and Yahng's mother together, while gradually revealing the ties that bind mother and daughter to the corrupt rancher who owns their land, and to his no-good son. The complexity of the story slows the pace, but Lee compensates with brilliant character writing, superb use of his rural setting and a riveting climax that plays out during a brutal snowstorm. Agent, Laura Strachan.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Gabriel Guttman, a 60ish Korean War veteran, returns to his boyhood home in rural Montana after 40 years of unaccountable absence. Scarred physically (one eye) and mentally (huge memory gaps), he is haunted by flashbacks to his role in the No Gun Ri massacre of Korean civilians. When he left Montana, not long after returning from Korea, he left behind Emily Cottage, his longtime sweetheart and probable wife-to-be if war had not intervened, and a Korean woman (he can't remember her name) whom he brought to America. When he returns, Emily is dead and the woman runs a small sheep ranch with her fiery, seductive, and highly capable teenage daughter, beautiful Yahng Yi. Gabriel remembers her mother, but can't recall if he ever loved her. Other characters also play significant roles in this complex plot: the Korean woman's son who dies at the same time as Emily, the landlord/neighbor who is deeply involved in the lives of Yahng Yi and her mother, and the landlord's troublemaking son. But the key to this moving tale is Gabriel's long, arduous struggle to regain some of life's inner beauty and peace of mind, which seem gone forever since No Gun Ri. This impressive first novel is graced with brilliant characterizations, superbly rendered settings and descriptive detail, and a deft weaving of past and present. Lee even manages to build suspense to a powerful climax. Many teens will love Yahng Yi, and they may learn about Montana ranching and the Korean War for the first time.-Robert Saunderson, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Bridgeworks (October 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882593944
• ISBN-13: 978-1882593941
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,678,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling chronicle of the struggle to atone, February 7, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Good Man: A Novel (Hardcover)

Korean-American author Edward Jae-Suk Lee presents a stunning debut novel, The Good Man. It is the story of a soldier, a good man, who has done terrible things. Haunted by his participation in the No Gun Ri massacre during the Korean War, in which American troops slaughtered civilians while fleeing south, his guilt surfaces when a reporter seeks him out and he attempts suicide, only to survive as a partial amnesiac. Seeking solace in the ranch where he grew up, he retreats to the only place he can remember, a sheep ranch in southwest Montana. There he reunites with a Korean peasant woman that came to America with him after the war, though he cannot remember their love. Bit by bit, the pieces of his life come back, and he must gradually uncover his history and seek salvation from his own crimes. A compelling-to-the-last-page chronicle of the struggle to atone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Blend of Ethnic and Western Literature, November 26, 2005

By 

Ann K (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Good Man: A Novel (Hardcover)

I don't normally like war-related books, but I found this to be a really interesting, beautifully written story. Parts of the narrative are overwritten, but overall, the prose is outstanding--especially the imagery of the Montana landscape. I liked the contrast of Asian culture against the background of the traditional American West. The characters are compelling, notably the war-damaged main character and also the teenage daughter of the Korean refugee he brought back from the war. It's not a one-sitting kind of book, but it's still a great story.

2.0 out of 5 stars An Important Topic, but..., October 9, 2010

By 

Blakely (los angeles) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Good Man: A Novel (Hardcover)

I think the author really wanted to write about important and troubling events, but I don't think these were the right characters or story for the task. I didn't find the characters to be likable or compelling, and I was waiting for the inevitable revelation, but when it came, it just didn't pack much of a punch. Jae-Suk Lee has some talent as a writer, but I think a simpler subject would have been a much better way to express that talent.