As a fan of Han Kang I had high hopes for this book but I did struggle to make it through it. At times I didn't understand bits of it and others the connection was told well. It wasn't the best I have read from Han Kang but I enjoyed it.

I am a massive Han Kang fan and was really looking forward to this book.

I did find myself struggle to make it through the student chapters vs the teacher, I just couldn't quite get on with the student. At times it was very beautiful and the connection between the two characters was told really well. I do think a few things may have gone over my head, however I think that was down to the formatting of the Arc copy I received. I have just picked up a beautiful hard back version of this and will be rereading again.

Sometimes the imagery was quite brutal. I look forward to reading something else from Kang in the future. I wouldn't say this is a good first book to start with her oeuvre. I have maybe read too many things similar to it recently. It must have been a challenge to translate, so that is quite commendable. Maybe a winter release date would have suited the content better.

A beautifully written, poetic novel detailing the connection between a mute student and her tutor who’s losing his sight. The woman returns each week to explore the roots of the Greek language and philosophy.
A short, poignant novel about connection that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I was a massive fan of The Vegetarian when I read it a few years ago, so I was excited to dive into whatever new weird world Kang conjured up this time, and it definitely did not disappoint. I went into it knowing nothing but found myself really enjoying the way the story unfolded itself - the links between language and sight and the ways in which these brought the Greek teacher and his student together were heartbreaking, but Kang's beautiful prose framed it so well. The contrast between the act of learning a language while living in silence was so thoughtfully written, and although I did have a hard time keeping track of who everyone was at times, because of the lack of character names, I was fully immersed in this story, and it ended before I knew it! This was first published in Korea in 2011, so I am very happy that it's finally been translated and published here. Another great work from Kang.

The newest Hang Kang novel translated into English, this short book follows the story of a young woman and her Greek language teacher as she loses her voice and he loses his sight.

I had mixed feeling about this about this book. Han Kang is a brilliant writer, and on one level she always delivers: this was rich and slightly bizarre, and a real experience to read. I enjoyed moving between two different characters, exploring both the present day and the past, and there were a few truly inspiring, stunning moments. There was a lot of interesting exploration in here, relating to language and human connection - although I don't think I completely understood it all.

Ultimately As a whole piece, I felt as though things were somewhat going over my head; I definitely gained more pleasure and insight from individual moments, rather than how everything came together.

I was looking forward to this book but for me it never quite got going and and I never really understood what the author was trying to say.
I prefered the teacher's story to the students but it wasn't quite for me.

Greek Lessons tells the story of two ordinary people brought together at a moment of private anguish - the fading light of a man losing his vision meeting the silence of a woman who has lost her language. Yet these are the very things that draw them to one another. Slowly the two discover a profound sense of unity - their voices intersecting with startling beauty, as they move from darkness to light, from silence to expression.

Greek Lessons is a tender love letter to human intimacy and connection, a novel to awaken the senses, vividly conjuring the essence of what it means to be alive.

In Seoul, a woman joins the classical Greek lessons. Fascinated by the intricacy of the dead language, she tries to participate, but she has lost the ability to speak long ago. Her silence draws the attention of the teacher, who is gradually losing his eyesight day by day...

Greek Lessons is a slow-paced, lyrical, beautifully written work on language, speech, silence and the importance of human connection. It’s a story about two ordinary people full of pain and anxiety, as the teacher is torn between Korea and Germany, where he lived for a part of his life, and a woman who’s about to lose custody over her son shortly after losing her mother. This novel consists of recollections about the past and thoughts about the presence and the unsure future. It’s a brilliant book, and the disability representation only adds to its charm.

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.

This book covers beliefs, values, customs, practices, and institutions of culture that gave me a great insight. The author has provided readers with a deeper understanding of the ways in which people from different cultural backgrounds live, think, and interact with each other. I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the richness and diversity of human culture. This is a book that can promote understanding, empathy, and a sense of interconnectedness among people from different backgrounds.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Greek Lessons is a quiet book about grief. The emotional impact of loss is mirrored by sensory deprivation. Loss of a son and voice. Loss of a friend and sight. It is a nonlinear post-traumatic narrative suffused with numb monotony.

The messy descriptions go in circles, skimming the surface as if to avoid getting down to the source of pain. It has its validity given the subject matter and the angle Han has chosen to approach it, I suppose, but I personally found this ‘tell, don’t show’ mode of narrative extremely irritating.

I was a huge fan of The Vegetarian, so I really wanted to love Greek Lessons too. Of course I didn’t expect them to be the same, but I did expect intensity and impact, which it completely lacks. There is no momentum, no tension, no conflict, non suspense, no eroticism, no humour. Nothing, really.

The characterisation feels anaemic, and the hollow reflections on big, pseudo-philosophical concepts like ‘beauty’, ‘sadness’, ‘divine’, ‘life’, and ‘death’ made them feel all the more sentimental and pretentious. I had no empathy for the protagonists. And worse, I had no interest in them. I only persevered because I received an ARC and felt obliged to finish it in order to review it.

I am sad to say this book was my biggest disappointment in 2023 so far. It was not for me, surely, and I honestly don’t know who I would recommend it to.

Really beautiful writing, poetic and stunning.

Fascinating characters exploring the loneliness of losing your voice and sight.

A great short read! However, I struggled to know what exactly what going on and who’s narration I was reading, it jumps between the characters a fair bit and I was left a bit confused and only really understood after finishing the book - I would gain a lot from a second read!

I really do love Han Kang though and will always recommend The Vegetarian!

Really interesting book and kept me hooked. The characters were fascinating and there was an emotional tenderness to the text.

Han Kang can do no wrong! Really enjoyed reading this book as I'm a huge fan of anything to do with language and the way it connects us. I also found the use of the third person for the woman who couldn't speak, and the first person for the Greek professor who is losing his sight, an interesting structural device

Han Hang writes with such elegance and precision. Greek Lessons was just as brilliant as expected; documenting all of the senses, it totally encapsulates loss and the ways in which we navigate it. I will recommend this to everyone I know; Han Kang is truly a genius.

I am a huge fan of Han Kang so I'm to grateful to have received this ARC. Greek Lessons is again a very quiet but powerful read. Really enjoyed it!

'This place is a place
where it is difficult to take a step in any direction.
All around has grown dark,
It is a place where it is difficult to find anything.'

After 'The Vegetarian' and 'The White Book', now comes an English translation of Han Kang's 2011 'Greek Lessons'. A woman suffering from mutism, a recurrence of a childhood affliction caused - perhaps- by personal problems; a Greek lecturer suffering from a degenerative eye condition; twin narratives, one in third-person present tense, the other on first-person past tense (the distinction is important, subtle, giving the reader a shifting perspective). Their two lives intersect as the woman attends the man's class, and slowly, as their past lives play out in the narrative, their two stories come together.

In a short novel Kang has produced a remarkable meditation on language and the silences that exist between words, written and spoken. There are so many layers at work here: the ancient Greek, and finding ways of translating that into Korean (and for us, the added layer of that then being translated into English.) This is not really a character study or a plot-driven story; rather, it is about how we communicate, how we find meaning and sense in a world where all we see is loss and absence. Above all, it is a profoundly beautiful work of art in its own right, wonderfully translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won, who manage to capture Kang's poetic writing:

'Your heart will beat the regular beat of sleep, and now and again your eyes, which had burned and blurred with tears, will flutter beneath their lids. When I walk into complete darkness, is it all right if I remember you without this unrelenting ache?'

Undoubtedly this will be one of my books of the year. Absolutely 5 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

What a singular book this is. It entwines two narratives: a woman who has lost the power of speech following a series of traumatic incidents. She has been a language prodigy - and is now learning Ancient Greek at a Korean language institute as a way back into engaging with language. Her teacher is a Korean who has recently returned to Korea following a childhood and professional life spent in Germany. Both are suffering crises that they attempt to deal with by pacing the city at night, wearing themselves out so that sleep will come. But they can't help turn over their histories in their minds.

This is a short and hyper-intense novel. Every sentence needs weighing, considering and placing before moving onto the next. Essays on linguistics and philosophy are threaded through as well as more conventional fictional writing. At times I was confused as to which story we were following. It's about language and its limitations - and treats communication almost as another sense. The prose is always elegant in translation, but at times I felt some of the nuances of Korean were not being expressed: an occupational hazard when reading a novel in translation about at least three different languages.

Absorbing, not always easy, and with two characters who are full of flaws and contradictions this is perhaps not the Kang novel to start with, The Vegetarian is more immediate, but this is one that her readers will find much to enjoy in.

Advance review copy kindly provided by Netgalley

The writing in this book is beautiful, and I SO wanted to love it, but I felt quite disconnected from it & struggled to really get into it. It’s a short book, but the depth of the writing means that it’s one you want to take your time with. 3.5 stars.