Powerful and moving, this volume paints seven vivid scenes from the days when the author was growing up in Korea at the height of the Japanese occupation. Most people in the West today, have all but forgotten what took place in Korea from 1932 to 1945. Among the many challenges facing the Koreans at this point in history, was the fact that the occupiers forced families to give up their names in favor of the ones chosen by the Japanese rulers. Readers will gain a much better understanding of an important humanitarian crisis from by-gone days, and, more importantly, comprehend the power of the human spirit to survive unrestrained cruelty. The book has fairly large print and no illustrations. 196 pgs, pb. ~ Mike
In this classic tale, Richard E. Kim paints seven vivid scenes from a boyhood and early adolescence in Korea at the height of the Japanese occupation, 1932 to 1945. Taking its title from the grim fact that the occupiers forced the Koreans to renounce their own names and adopt Japanese names instead, the book follows one Korean family through the Japanese occupation to the surrender of the Japanese empire. Lost Names is at once a loving memory of family and a vivid portrayal of life in a time of anguish.
