The White Book

Thank you, Laura, for this wonderful birthday gift! I am going to say that this is a book of poetry. That deals with suffering, and it is very good at it. I have come to appreciate poetry as a means to explore and understand our emotions. But I have also learnt to avoid dwelling on emotions that make me feel sad. Which made reading this book—despite it being quite short—somehow challenging. I had to take several breaks to clear my mind and think about other things.

  Externalising our emotions, by any means, like poetry, can help us deal with them. I believe that is what Han Kang was trying to do with this book. Perhaps she was trying to contain some painful memories, thereby allowing herself to continue living her life.
  I wish we—all the people in the world—could live happy lives. But even that has to come from a conscious decision. Which, as easy as it may sound, can actually be surprisingly difficult.