Poetic Despair

 Greek Lessons by Han Kang

Greek Lessons book cover

After reading The Vegetarian, I was interested in reading more by Han Kang, but also somewhat hesitant to read other works. While I was thoroughly enthralled by The Vegetarian, I can’t say that I enjoyed the book. It was compelling but also somewhat disturbing, eliciting strong emotions in the ways that powerful literature can. I think that Greek Lessons was similar. It was a powerful and emotionally compelling novel, with poetic descriptions. While the novel is loosely about a teacher and student who both lose an aspect of their ability to sense and communicate (the teacher is losing his vision while the student loses her ability to talk), their losses are further complicated by their prior experiences with losing loved ones. Interestingly, both characters seem to experience a new kind of expression through classical Greek. While the novel is incredibly sad, Kang’s descriptions (or the translations) are emotionally fraught and powerful. This is a book I would like to revisit, but more for re-reading the emotions of the characters. I don’t think this is a book for everyone, but I do think that it speaks to a kind of loneliness and the search for connection. More specifically, it examines how we can use language (or lose ourselves in language) to express our feelings and convey our emotions. Interestingly, it seems like the student is unable to find words to accurately convey her feelings, while the teacher is able to, but is also rejected by others to whom he conveys his feelings. Maybe that is why they both seek out the ambiguities in classical Greek—because it’s both precise and somewhat vague. This was definitely a novel that made me both think and feel.