Customer Reviews

One Thousand Chestnut Trees

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

_One Thousand Chestnut Trees_, is a wonderful book from an author conveying a very special point of view -- and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mira Stout's novel. I'm grateful to Stout for writing the book -- and pleased that she found a publisher.

I am an Amerasian of Korean-German descent. My mother came to this country as a foreign-exchange student after the Korean War, and later, married an American. I find this book so phenomenal because of a greater context. It wasn't that long ago that 17 states banned marriages between Koreans and so-called "Americans." And if American racial prejudices weren't enough, so-called "half-breed" Korean-American children have also faced unspeakable discrimination from many Korean communities. That Mira Stout has risen above this type of background rhetoric to present her story is a testament to something quite special in her character. She lovingly represents the Korean side of her family through this novel. And while she does share the "dark sides" of her family, countries, and cultures that she must bridge, she doesn't succomb to a tiresome tirade of old accusations. Rather, she presents these people in a far more sophisticated way -- showing their struggles, misunderstandings, and achievements. Stout shares a personal journey with all of its heartache and humor. We have many good texts regarding Korean history in the 20th century -- but we have far fewer books that give historical statistics names and faces and feelings.

As an Amerasian in the United States, my Korean heritage has been difficult to access. There are many reasons for this -- both benign and malicious. Benign in the sense that America is overwhelming European-American by habit; malicious in that racial prejudice still closes many doors on both sides of the Pacific. But Stout has been willing to risk writing a book that opens doors to my Korean heritage -- to my parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles. Stout shares the thoughts that my family will never be able to tell me -- but notions which deserve articulation. I appreciate Stout giving voice to the voiceless. And in voicing, giving us an insight into people that are more than mono-syllables and horrible accents -- but rather, a sophisticated amalgam of love and hope without demagoguery.

I hope Stout writes another book soon.

As a second generation Korean-American like the author Mira Stout I have struggled to understand the 2 worlds that create my world. Do not read this book if you're going to get annoyed with the already mentioned, imperfect grammar and prose. However, if you're interested in Korean history through the eyes of people who've lived through the last 100 years of Korea's turbulent past, then read this book. It enabled me to better understand the traumas of war that my grandparents and parents endured, and finally initiated a revealing conversation with my father about subjects he has always avoided. For me, this book was a page turner that was nearly impossible to put down. Mira Stout made the 3 narrators of the novel real and pulled me into their lives, I didn't even notice the inconsistencies mentioned in the other reviews.

Overall, an emotional, heartfelt and satisfying journey into the history of 20th Century Korea told through the life of Mira's grandparents and mother. The book reads like an autobiography at times and is ornate and detailed, sometimes distractingly so. There are other little faults here, such as she doesn't get all the historical facts straight, she mispronounces (quite badly at times) Korean words and there are slight grammatical errors. However, this book has so many other positives that it outweighs the aforementioned negatives. You can tell that she's genuinely made a connection with the Korean side to her, both culturally, emotionally and intellectually. But at the same token, she makes herself sound like an outsider looking into the Korean culture from a window outside. That is actually a plus sometimes because she can draw out the aspects of Koreaness that would be compelling to a Western audience. She tells her mother's story with empathy and spirit and she describes her own journey into discovering her Korean side with conviction and sincerity. In the begining of the story she seems to see her Koreaness (Mira is 1/2 Korean on her mother's side) as almost a liability and something to be minimized. As the story unfolds, she see's her Koreaness as an important and essential part of who she is. By the end of it, she discovers a whole new side to her, almost a spiritual rebirth of a Koreaness that cannot be explained, quantified or even fully understood, but it can only be experienced and enjoyed. Overall, it's a highly enjoying book, that will even jerk a few tears. Despite it's small flaws, I highly recommend it.

While exploring and growing her relationship with her mother, her past, and her roots, the protagonist tells a tale of Korean history which I found enriching. I at times found the literary style "flat" and the narrative voice too simple for a work of fiction -- as if a girl / woman down the corridor had verbally told her tale. But perhaps this was the intention of the author as indeed this voice matched the character of the young woman in the book. Some of the imagery and comparisons used were nonetheless refreshing and new. To add to this, both the tale of the family (history) and the unfolding of characters (the mother) kept me interested and reading. The book sounded / read as an autobiography in many parts and I wonder if the story should not have been developed in one of either direction -- clearly non-fictional or more solidly fictional (clear distance between author and narrator-character). As a final comment, there is a search for the past and a discovery that much of the past has completely disappeared; although the images, impressions, and memories remain. This is a discovery with which many could probably identify and the finding that a certain family memory can be passed on serves as a form of shared comfort.

For a first novel, Mira Stout has done herself proud. It is a wonderful, eloquent and at times gripping tale about Korea and being from a mixed cultural heritage. I, too, am Eurasian (Australian/Chinese) and I could empathise with many of the author's sentiments. I read this book initially to learn more about Korea and the Koreans and I have come away with far more than I had expected. I highly recommend this book to all Eurasians, 2nd generation Koreans and all those who are curious to learn more as I can assure you that your understanding of the Korean people & culture will certainly be deeper.

This book has three main parts. The first part is written from the perspective of the "daughter" who lives in NY and Vermont. She is half Korean. The middle part is in Korea and takes us back to the Japanese occupation of Korea, WWII and then the Korean War. It is written from the perspective of the "grandfather" and the "mother". This is the most worthwhile part of the book. The final part written again from the "daughter's" perspective follows her travel to Korea for the first time.

I am not sure what the author's intention was. Was it to enlighten the reader about Korean history? It did a fair job of this but it was not very deep and was not researched extensively. For those who know little about Korea, there is something to gain from this book.

Stout does not develop the characters well. The chronologic jumping around and the variety of characters makes the reader not vested in any one of them. In the end, as a novel, it was not very enjoyable. If your goal is to learn more about Korea, I imagine that other books would be more efficient.

The New York Times review was right. I found the first third of this novel dull and plodding, the middle section quite good, and the last third poorly edited and at times unreadable. It was if the novel had been written by two different authors--one who was in command of the subject matter (the middle third) and one who desperately needed a strong editor to help shape her writing (the rest of the book).

I lived in Korea in the late-1970s and still possess affection for its people and interest in its history. I read this book to update my knowledge of how a 'modern' Korean looked at the world. Unfortunately I found it full of stereotypes, characters who were barely alive on the page. Only the dissolute brother held any interest. I found the descriptions of the family relationships were awkward and superficial. It's a pity because the scope and theme of the book is fascinating, and the mother's narration of historical events of interest, despite the blandness of her character. Overall I thought the author was too prepared to accept what Koreans think about themselves at face value, and not explore the differences between perception and reality. With the exception of a few pages, the final section reads more like a travelogue than a search for identity. Nice try but not quite there.

I can't recommend this book more highly. Unlike the other related titles you list, this is goes way beyond the racial stereotype tearkerking genre to reach the stature of a major literary work. Stout writes beautifully and with depth and enormous compassion. This is an unsentimental and moving book, which I urge others to read and pass on to their friends. Forget that sniping review from Sydney!

1000 Chestnut Trees is a wonderful and highly enlightening book. Stout paints a very accurate and insightful portrait of Korea and its people. As a second-generation Korean-American, I was very well able to relate with Anna, in particular her experiences in modern-day Korea. Stout's impressions of Korea and Koreans are highly perceptive, and I was especially impressed with her ability to capture their essence in such a simple, easy manner. She also possesses a knack for humanizing each character in her novel, be it Uncle Hong-do or Anna herself. I found them highly believable and began to sympathize with them right away.

The diction is very eloquent throughout the novel-it strikes a perfect balance between the abstract and the concrete. I read other reviews that criticize Stout for being too "flowery" and "eloquent", but I disagree. Her style is very clear and precise. (Besides, isn't eloquence supposed to be a good thing? One can never bee "too eloquent".)

I have read quite a few books on Korean culture and history, but I have yet to find an author who can duplicate Stout's elegance and grace in presenting the topic.