Name: MINBAK
Price: 355.00 ZAR
Availability: InStock
Author: Ela Lee
ISBN: 9781787303683

Type

Physical Book

Publisher

Harvill

Author

Ela Lee

Year

2026

Pages

400

Format

Hardcover

Dimensions

22.20 x 13.80 x 4.00 cm

ISBN13

9781787303683

MINBAK

Ela Lee (Author) · Harvill · Hardcover

New Book Imported to South Africa

Delivery: 08 Jul - 30 Jul

R 355

R 355

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Synopsis "MINBAK"

‘Ela Lee is a remarkable new voice in fiction'' Stacey Halls, bestselling author of The Household

Minbak (n.) a lodging in a private home

Three generations of women living together in one room with a lifetime of secrets between them.

London, 2008: When her husband dies unexpectedly, Hana is left with a pile of debt and no way to pay it off. With her teenage daughter Ada and her declining mother Yuna relying on her, she has no choice but to move her family into one room, opening up the rest of their home to paying guests as a minbak.

Korea, 1985. Hana was in the same place; running a minbak with her mother and making some life-altering mistakes. Living with Yuna again brings back long-archived secrets for Hana, and, eventually, the truth of what happened over twenty years ago comes erupting to the surface. Eventually, the three women are forced to confront how little they know about each other, and whether it will bring them closer or break them apart.

The night the baby without a surname was born, the army rolled into his mother’s townIncheon, South Korea, 1985. The country is revolting against a dictatorship, but in the local boarding-house, the chaos inside is only just beginning. When Hana is pulled from school to work in her family’s minbak, all she wants is to escape her small town. When she finally does, she leaves as an exile, a ruin, or a martyr, depending on who you ask. Her mother Youngia is left behind with the torment of both of their decisions. London, 2008. Ada knows little about her mother, Hana. When tragedy hits, Hana has no choice but to move her daughter and ailing mother into a single room and turn the rest of their home into a minbak. As the past collides with the present, Ada is determined to unearth her mother’s secrets. But her obsession will lead to a discovery that unravels not just her family’s dark past, but that of an entire country’s. From Korea’s industrial estates to London’s suburbs, the three women cross continents and generations to find truth, forgiveness and compassion. ‘Had me utterly engrossed. An incredible story of love, conflict and heartbreak.’ Rosie Price‘Lyrical and devastating MINBAK is a flawless meditation on memory, love and misunderstanding.’ Ella King‘A poignant and precise novel by a writer of great skill.’ Nicola Dinan