Human Acts: Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature Kang Han (2016)

Set in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1980, this riveting, poetic and powerful novel follows the aftermath of a violent student uprising in which a young boy named Dong-ho is killed. As his friend searches for Dong-hos corpse, the story introduces an editor struggling against censorship, a prisoner, a factory worker and Dong-hos grief-stricken mother, all suffering from traumatic memories. Through their collective heartbreak and acts of hope comes a tale of a brutalised people searching for a voice. This modern classic by Han Kang, author of the International Booker Prize-winning The Vegetarian, explores the psychological, spiritual and political aftermath of the ten-day insurgency and established her as a writer of international importance. The contents are in English.