Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* The first in a trilogy, this beautifully scripted and drawn Korean manhwa provides a truly intimate but respectful journey in the company of a young girl and her widowed mother. Spanning Ehwa's life from age seven to 16, each chapter shows the progress of her sexual awakening, much more as an emotional and social reality than a set of physical circumstances. As Ehwa moves from the open curiosity of childhood that fixates on body parts to the mysteries of attraction and her own heartbreak, she and her mother navigate common issues that range from defending one's feelings from bullies (little boys in Ehwa's life; gossipy men in her mother's) to mutual attraction (a young monk and a visiting boy from a more monied class for Ehwa; an itinerant painter/scholar for her mother). The mother and daughter share their stories with each other in a developmentally appropriate and credible fashion. The black-and-white art is presented in generous panels and several full-page spreads. While there is some nudity appropriate to the narrative, both the natural and social worlds are depicted to call attention to facial expressions rather than body parts. A variety of flowers adorns the pages, lending a palpable scent of perfume to this heady and gentle read.This is an exquisite and feminist-positive story, richly literate and imaginative. Readers will eagerly await the subsequent volumes.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This manhwa-first in a trilogy-chronicling the lives of a single mother and her daughter in rural Korea is a moving and evocative look at love as seen through the eyes of one feeling it for the first time and another who longs to savor it once more. The story follows daughter Ehwa from age seven up as she discovers the physical differences between boys and girls, grows into young womanhood and undergoes her initial confusing experiences with attraction and romance. Ehwa's interest is piqued by a young Buddhist monk, a lad whose interest is mutual but doomed to futility thanks to his faith's strict code of celibacy. Meanwhile, Ehwa's mother, who was widowed at an early age, finds her loneliness soothed by the attentions of an artistic traveling salesman known only as "Picture Man." Their relationship later helps Ehwa understand much about the joys of making a romantic connection. This book has no conflict other than that common to youthful competition over boys, but it is a work of great humanity that sucks the reader in. Kim's artwork is stunning, and seldom has a male writer captured the attitudes, emotions and behavior of female characters so believably. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Highly regarded in Korea, where his "Color" trilogy was first serialized in 1992, Kim has cross-cultural appeal. In this lyrical coming-of-age manhwa set a century ago in rural Korea, young Ehwa grows up under the fond eye of her widowed tavern-keeper mother. The increasingly pretty girl attracts the randy village boys, but she is drawn to less attainable and more sensitive lads: a local apprentice monk, a farmer's son schooled elsewhere, and a handsome worker from a different village. Intercut with Ehwa's tentative steps toward love is her mother's intermittent and achingly sweet liaison with a traveling painter, helping to deepen their complex mother-daughter relationship. Although the art, plot, and dialog have poetic beauty and charm, Kim still incorporates earthy and disturbing elements: male customers verbally harass Ehwa's mother, while Ehwa shows her distaste for her girlfriend's sexual explorations. VERDICT Kim's elegant trilogy will have strong appeal for its literary quality and offers key historical and cultural information, with a reading group guide included in the last two volumes. Sexual content and nudity, presented discreetly. For older teens and up.-M.C. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up-A coming-of-age story set in rural Korea a few generations ago. Ehwa is a beautiful young woman who, over a series of vignettes, learns about her body and how men and women make babies. She suffers the pain of her first unrequited love for the boy monk Chung-Myung (who also suffers from his own forbidden love for her). She also finds herself attracted to Sunoo, a rich son of an orchard owner who studies in the city. While Ehwa discovers her own desires, her widowed mother finds love again with a traveling picture salesman. The story revolves around the close relationship the women share as Ehwa becomes her mother's main ally and confidante. The illustrator uses flowers in many of the vignettes to explain aspects of love or to represent his characters and their relationships. While the book begins when Ehwa is seven and only takes her into her early teen years, the nostalgic tone and slow pacing make the title more likely to appeal to older readers. The artwork is beautiful, particularly in Hwa's depiction of the landscape and the two main characters. A good additional purchase for libraries looking for less action-oriented manga/manhwa titles.-Alana Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Manga master Kim releases the first in a trilogy of graphic novels that trace the coming of age of a young girl in pastoral Korea. Ehwa lives with her mother, a widowed tavern keeper ostracized by fellow villagers for her independent lifestyle. But an unexpected visit from a traveling salesman ignites a flame of desire in her mother that lays the groundwork for Ehwa's exploration of her own sexual awakening. Flower and water motifs course steadily through the author's erotically tinted observations of daily life, but the breathtakingly elegant line drawings of Korean landscapes elevate the use of such standard metaphors for fertility and sexuality. Furthermore, the author is able to evoke nuances of emotion from stock-character forms in a genre not known for its subtlety. Despite his best intentions, however, yang clearly overpowers the mystique of the yin in this opener: Stereotypesamong those referenced here are that women talk a lot, are emotionally fragile and must rely on men for their sexual fulfillmentdot the otherwise unblemished landscapes that saturate this enchanting meditation on love and longing. (Graphic novel. 14 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
