Memories of My Ghost Brother: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ghosts and goblins are part of the 1960s Korean experience for this autobiographical novel's young protagonist. So are alcoholism, prostitution, racism and war. Insu (or Heinz, as he is known to his American schoolteachers) is the son of an American father, a blond G.I. stationed near the city of Inchon, and a Korean mother, a black-marketeer. Despite his marriage, Insu's father lives on-base, far from the haunted house the boy and his mother share with a handful of relatives. Insu encounters many spirits in dreams or in dreamlike episodes; perhaps the most enigmatic of these is the Japanese colonel who literally opens the boy's mind. Insu grows up wild, running with a pack of boys who splatter frogs on rocks, indulge in petty larceny and get into knife fights. His alcoholic uncle tells Insu long, terrifying anecdotes about goblins who gang-bang matrons and vampiric fox demons disguised as beautiful women. None of these, however, are as difficult for Insu to understand as is the Sunday-school world his father pushes at him. Insu's mixed blood causes him perpetual ambivalence, making him feel "caught here in the boundary between the two Koreas, caught between North and South and East and West with my own blood mixed from the blood of enemies." Although the book's story line is too episodic and its structure?broken into segments that alternate between childlike point-of-view and omniscient adult interpretation?a bit rigid, this is a stately, mature and understated first novel written with great sensitivity and assurance.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Fenkl's first novel is based on his boyhood in Korea. Born to a Korean mother and an American GI father, he contrasts a childhood influenced by an extended Korean family and the American way of life as represented by the hamburgers, hot dogs, and Coca-Cola of his father's army base. Elements of this novel are reminiscent of Mishima's writing?young boys portrayed as both emotionally sensitive and cruel, and beyond adult control. Fenkl's own character, however, exhibits compassion and thoughtfulness toward others as he attempts to cope with the consequences of his biracial heritage and the many tragedies that occur among his friends and family. The narrative voice shifts between child and adult, reflecting on the events of childhood?a strategy that is not completely successful. Certain potentially significant parts of the story are not introduced well or not fully developed. For instance, the "ghost" brother does not appear until the end, with no build-up. Despite its weaknesses, this book is a worthwhile addition to academic and public library collections.?Rebecca A. Stuhr-Rommereim, Grinnell Coll. Libs., Iowa
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition - First Printing edition (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525941754
• ISBN-13: 978-0525941750
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #512,562 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars powerful, moving, April 24, 2000

By	Charse Yun (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memories of My Ghost Brother (Paperback)

I don't know why I like this "novel"/memoir so much, but it is a terribly moving and poweful story. Much of it is written in the deceptively simple prose of a child-narrator, though the older self "looks back" in reflective, lyrical passages that reminded me of Hemingway. I was at first put off by the first chapter: elements of haunting, mysticism, a child narrator. . .uh oh, where are we going? But as the story rolls along, I found myself more and more immersed in the story of a young, biracial child growing up near a US military base in Seoul. Descriptions of life at school, in the streets, in the GI camp were engrossing, and Fenkl's refusal to transliterate and translate some Korean words or expressions and not others was fascinating for me as a Korean American. The ethnographic folklore included here are always grounded in the harsh reality of a dim bulb in a spare room, the humanized character of a drunk, coarse uncle, and through all the traces of American culture that have infiltrated Korea. There are psychological and literal "displacements" described here that have produced painful cleavages in the family. The personal impact of social and historical realities are portrayed here in all their harshness, but this is absolutely not a sentimental "victim" story of oppression. I found myself identifying with the child-narrator, absorbed by his story, and in the end, powerfully moved.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fenkl's simple and beautiful writing transports the reader, May 8, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memories of My Ghost Brother (Paperback)

Although I did not know him well, Heinz and I graduated Vassar College together in 1982. Apparently, Heinz was a better student of Professor William Gifford than I was. Fenkl's story of a young Korean-American growing up in Korea after the war is simple and honest, a child's non-judgmental view of a unique time and place. But the reader should not confuse Heinz' writing style from his precious content. We are drawn to the boy (is that a picture of young Heinz on the cover?) and his story, part horific, part fabulous fantasy, part loving tribute. We are also witness to post-war Korea, a setting virtually unknown to us, full of interesting people, events and ideas. I eagerly await Heniz' next book -- perchance another installment of the same story? I hope so.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Revealing, personal account of the Amerasian experience, May 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Memories of My Ghost Brother (Paperback)

This novel/memoir is a revelation. The Amerasian experience which is still such a largely untold and suppressed history in America is vividly and tenderly told in this book. Because the opening paragraph of the novel is so surreal and pained, I was expecting a more solemn novel and was pleasantly surprised by the many moments of humor and childlike charm it contains. Fenkl is wise to tell his story through the voice of a child. It really makes this not so common experience, if not a universal one, one that is easy to relate to. I highly recommend it.