I didn't finish this in the end but I do own a physical copy so I might revist it in the future. I just found the narrative quite confusing? I didn't realise for quite some time that there was two different POVs and it just threw me. I've loved Han Kangs over works so I think maybe I need to try this again in the future.
Thank you for the eARC!

Confusing at times but I do enjoy the writing style. Just like other Han Kang’s books this one left me impressed

The power of language transcends time and space, Han Kong with her coincise yet precise prose opens the reader up to a world of consciousness in a way no other writer has quite mastered yet.

Personally, I found the topic of the book (the Greek language) a bit too boring and the book didn't grap me. I did not finish it.

This book is poetically written and all about language and communication.

How do we communicate when words are absent? We have two characters - a woman who has lost the power to speak, after some traumatic experiences in her life and a Greek language teacher who is losing his sight.

Over the course of this short novel they form a bond as she takes Greek Lessons in his class.

Whilst the writing in Greek Lessons was beautiful, I found that I was disconnected from the story and its characters so it was very difficult to follow and I kept putting it down. This wasn't at all what I was expecting. Whilst interesting, it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

A wonderful and tender love story about people as well as love and language. A beautiful nod to the power of language and human connection

This was a really interesting book to read - the poetic and lyrical writing style we usually expect from Kang is undoubtedly evident in Greek Leasons, and I really enjoyed her reflections on language, identity and relationships. However, admittedly I felt distanced from the characters and it was not as powerful a read as Human Acts - but still a worthy read if you’ve ever enjoyed Kang’s writing.

Another brilliant novel by Han Kang, who has become one of my favourites authors in the recent years.
Greek Lessons is a short but impactful novel about isolation, alienation, language and the importance of human connection.
It's about two people - a woman who can't speak and a man who can't see,
coming to terms with the suffering and losses they've experienced in their painful lives.
The writing is stunning, intimate and philosophical.

I loved the idea of this book and enjoyed the writing and multiple pov’s, unfortunately I ended up DNF’ing. I do feel this is more me than the book (hence taking so long to review but still writing one) as I really didn’t want to give up. I think it was more bad timing for me than anything else (I am a mode reader after all).

All that said, this is a book I will be purchasing to keep on my shelf for when the right time does come, I’m still wanting to know how it ends. And I will update my review then. In the meantime I’m giving it a 3 as I like what I read so far and that only feels fair.

Like The Vegetarian, this book was unique, gripping and interesting to read, following a lady who had lost her language and takes Greek lessons. The teacher, who is going blind, reminds us of the importance of human connection and closeness. Whilst short, this book contains an excellent plot, fantastic character development, and will become a classic, I am sure,

Despite enjoying Kang's previous work, particularly Human Acts,this latest felt too cerebral for my current taste and failed to grab my attention in its inital chapters

“Greek Lessons” – Han Kang (translated from Korean by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won)

"Now and then, language would thrust its way into her sleep like a skewer through meat, startling her awake several times a night..."

“Greek Lessons” is the story of two lonely and isolated people. One is an elderly professor of Ancient Greek, slowly losing his sight. His parts of the story often link back to his childhood, one spent in part in Germany, retracing his steps and trying to find the source of his isolation. The other is one of his students, a former teacher who has recently lost both custody of her child and her voice. While her professor seems to be seeking answers from the past, she is avoiding it, to the point of learning a dead language to find a new voice.

What I took from this book was a lot of interesting ideas and concepts, but not much else. I do enjoy when a writer is obviously interested in a topic and wishes to convey that interest, which is what I got from Kang and Ancient Greek, and especially the concept of middle voice. The ideas of language and our connection to it often being insufficient to cross divides or misunderstandings also come through, and there are quite a few touching scenes devoted to this.

I guess, somewhat ironically, that I couldn’t cross the divide and connect with this book. Too much of it felt directionless, which could reflect the characters and their aimless wandering in the city streets, but that doesn’t mean I found it enjoyable, or worth a time investment. There’s beautiful writing (and by extension translation), and people who like more philosophical novels will find something to like here, but reading this after “The Vegetarian” felt like a comedown.

I guess this would be the exact type of read that is going to enthrall some and bore others, and I was closer to the latter. It’s not enough to put me off her other work, but also not a full-throated recommendation from me. Wasn't the worst choice for #marchinkorea, though.

What did you think of this one?

A lyrical and poetic exploration of loss and grief, and of the power of langauge. A great read for fans of Han Kang, but lacking some of the immediacy and visceral writing of The Vegetarian.

A beautifully written book that explores the suffering and grief caused by loss; not just loss of a loved one but the loss of ability, independence and capacity. Furthermore, the book delves into the importance of human connection and its accompanying fragility. I enjoyed reading this book and am a big fan of Han Kang's writings. I hope anyone else who chooses to read it enjoys it also.

In a classroom in Seoul a mute women is trying to regain her language by attending ancient Greek lessons. She tries to speak but her voice just won't come back. The teacher is drawn to her, he wants to know why shes attended. For him her lack of voice is even more personal as he is loosing his eye sight by a  little bit more each day.

Eventually they discover there is more than this that binds then together. They are both experiencing immense pain, her from the loss of her mother and custody battle over her son and him for a childhood between two vastly different cultures.

I think having read this book, and the  Vegetarian a couple of years ago Han Kangs writing might just not be for me. I really struggle to comprehend what's happening in the story and therefore I loose interest along the way. I can see that it would be a great read for someone but that someone isn't me.

I went into this excited as the premise sounded good, but it turned out to be nothing like what I was expecting.
On the surface, the writing was very poetic and I initially enjoyed how it explored the importance of language in human connections. Yet, as the story progressed, it was just far too abstract for me. I felt so removed from both the story and the characters, and I couldn't seem to get a hold of what was going on. Around the 70% mark, I found myself skim-reading, which is never a good sign.

It had a great premise with some glimpses of really lovely prose, but Greek Lessons did not work for me at all.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

In this book, Han Kang's characters balance their very real dilemmas with wider thoughts about philosophy, language and art.

I feel somewhat torn in my review of this book- on the one hand, there were sections of this book that I thought were beautiful and thought-provoking, especially as a language nerd, and other sections where I felt like the core concept of the book held it back from probing some of the ideas in more detail. Overall, however, I thought it was an interesting and enjoyable book.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book, undoubtedly a solid 5 star from me. The deep dive into trauma, heartbreaks and loneliness tears me apart. The proses are poignant and solid, with a hint of detachment, making us feels pity, sad, and strangely lonely.

I had really high hopes for this book, but sadly, I ultimately did not enjoy it. I found the pacing too slow and in the end quite boring. Very sad about it, might give it another go in the future but setting it aside for now.

Following two people - one who has lost the ability to speak and one who has lost the ability to see.=, Kang takes us on a disorientating and emotive journey.

The continued switching of tense as we switch between POVs mirrors the feeling one might have living without one of the 5 senses and provides a solid foundation to bring the reader into the mindset of these two characters.

We follow their lives and flashbacks leading up to a turning moment where the senses collide and harmonise.

Rejecting a narrative style, this book feels less like a tale and more like a whirlwind dancing behind the character's lives.