A sweeping historical fiction debut by the Seoul-born Bora Lee Reed, Song For Another Home is an evocative and atmospheric story, set in a fractured era. It’s the beginning of the 1950s, and war has broken out between North and South Korea. The dual narrative plot centres on a schoolgirl, Oksoon: she, along with her mother and brother, must flee their home in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, when China enters the conflict.
Determined to reach Seoul in the South, they encounter an array of obstacles during the challenging journey and beyond. Further south, in the city of Jinju, Oksoon’s cousin Junho has acquired a letter-writing role at an orphanage who are trying to raise vital funds from the USA. When the director’s niece arrives, harbouring a secret, his dream of moving to America and his familial obligations collide with astounding effect.
The alternating chapters offer a unique position, providing different outlooks of wartime experiences: displacement, sacrifice and families torn apart, along with hunger, pain and suffering that depict the realities of war, conveyed with emotional dexterity by the determined characters.
Immersive and evocative, Reed’s prose simmers with unexpected secrets that catch you by surprise. At times tender and heartbreaking, Song For Another Home is nevertheless full of spirit. The ending could have been extended to reveal more layers – though as it is, there’s an option for a potential sequel to this exceptional debut novel.
