The strength of the boy’s parents in the opening chapter sets the tone for the entire novel. It is at this time we learn about the determination of the baby’s parents-how his father is a strong Korean influence politically against the Japanese, and how his mother staunchly supports the father and refuses to collapse with fear. The novel then unfolds with a scene on a train from Korea to Manchuria, when the narrator of the novel is just a baby, telling the story from an omniscient point of view. In this speech, the author discussed the trials of becoming a Korean writer and the challenges of coming to terms with one’s past. The 40th edition of the book begins with a preface, a speech the author gave in Switzerland in 1987. Kim is classified as a biography, although the author himself notes at the end of the book that it is neither a work of fiction or non-fiction, but merely a blending of real people and real stories.
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