Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi

I was so so impressed by this book! We talked about it today in my Children's Lit class and it's kind of a relief because I've been wanting to talk about it with somebody. I have to admit, I feel rather naive about the subject of this book. I had never known that the Japanese had invaded Korea, much less rendered the nation in rather defenseless servitude to theirs. Taking that into consideration, I was able to connect to Sook's (or Nuna's, as I like to call her) story very closely.

In class, we were asked to write about something that was powerful to us in the book. I have very vivid images of Nuna's grandfather. I loved this character - his incredible strength and comparable fragility. I can picture quite clearly Nuna's mother taking down branches from grandfather's beloved pine tree and putting them in a wooden bowl next to his bed. She brought what he loved to him when he was unable to go outside.

Three days later, the grandfather dies. To me, the tree was totally symbolic of the grandfather himself. One represented the other so that, when one's existence was ended, so too was the other's. It is as if the tree had become a part of his identity, his entire being. Like when elderly couples who have been together for sixty years lose their spouse, many times they die within days - from heartbreak and from the vital connection that has been broken inside them.

After the grandfather dies, Nuna goes back into his room and touches his quill pins. She later wishes she can take them with her as she is fleeing her ravaged nation.

All of these images of the grandfather instantly pull at my heartstrings. I think of my own grandpa, a tiny, leathery man with a shock of white hair, a mischievous glint in his eye, and always a smile on my face. He always called me Emmy, a name that few have ever called me by. Even today when people say that, my heart stops for a moment. After he died, I remember going into his favorite room and just running my hands over his worn blue rocking chair. I sat down in the wooden rocking chair beside it and just stared at it for a while, willing my precious grandpa to be back with me. After a while I got up and sat down quietly in his chair, rocking back and forth, picturing him there. Nuna's relationship with her grandfather brought me back to this place.

What a great book - it piqued me on a personal level and conveyed amazing historical information that I had previously been in the dark about. Definitely a good read and definitely something I will put into my classroom. The quietness of the pages really drew me in.