JCW: “the Magical Language of Others” is woven around forty-nine letters written in Korean by Eun Ji's (E.J. Koh's) mother. Multiple languages are used to link culture, hardship and love across time and distance. This is a beautifully told story of resilience and personal growth.
United States on Oct 04, 2023
Jes: Came in perfect condition, excited to read!
United States on Oct 04, 2023
Dr. Stephanie Han: E.J. Koh’s The Magical Language of Others! Koh’s memoir will resonate for those caught between time and place, who seek an understanding between generations, and who look to words for answers. This book exposes the realities of economic global work, Confucian expectations translated into modern lives, and the brutality of people living out their ambitions. It paints a poignant and raw picture of how we try to manifest a certain life. I believe that had I read this at a different time in my life I would have come to different conclusions, but I think that is what makes this a good book—this is one you will reread.
On a personal note, the book made me think about the life of my Korean cousin from Seoul. He’s back in Korea and spent years in the US as a parachute kid. My uncle was a cultural envoy and was called back. He took his youngest son and left his older one to live on his own at the age of 13 in New York. The belief in education and the excruciating conformity and misery that the Korean education system imposes on its young results in serious family disruption. Yet too, the chase for status, for acceptance, for money, a very real attempt to carve out a place and...
United States on Oct 17, 2020
MK: A beautifully written memoir! I couldn't stop reading it once I started!
Germany on Mar 23, 2020
Gregory Barbee: Magnanimity. It has been several years since a book compelled me to stay awake into the wee hours of the morning finishing it, and yet E.J. Koh’s extraordinary, magnanimous memoir, The Magical Language of Others, did just that. Eun Ji’s recounting of her relationship with her mother and family over the last 20 or so years exhibits power and grace in poetic (not surprising, given her experience and success as a poet) prose.
I particularly enjoyed the description of Eun Ji’s recounting of her experiences persevering, coming of age, and ultimately triumphing. Her journey to forgiveness is a paradigm of magnanimity. Even more riveting, the parallels raised by her description of the lives of her grandmothers brought to mind the incredible writing and stories of Min Jin Lee (Pachinko), Krys Lee (Drifting House) and Crystal Hana Kim (If You Leave Me). I could not offer higher praise.
One of Eun Ji’s mother’s letters offers the advice that “[w]hat we see changes according to what we look for.” In The Magical Language of Others, I was looking for a moving story. The book beautifully offers that and then some. It will undoubtedly touch common elements in each...
United States on Jan 09, 2020
| Exploring the Power of Human Connection: An Intimate Memoir About the Magical Language of Others | Jessica Redland and the Hedgehog Hollow Team Create Three-Year Strategies | Heather Atkinson's Unauthorized Story Continues in Bad Blood, Book 2 | |
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| Total Reviews | 24 reviews | 228 reviews | 44 reviews |
| Item Weight | 8.8 ounces | 1.33 pounds | 3.52 ounces |
| Asian & Asian Americans Biographies | Asian & Asian Americans Biographies | ||
| Dimensions | 5.6 x 0.7 x 8.6 inches | 6 x 1.06 x 9 inches | 6 x 1 x 9 inches |
| ISBN-10 | 1951142276 | 1801625182 | 1801629021 |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4/5 stars of 380 ratings | 4.5/5 stars of 6,858 ratings | 4.5/5 stars of 2,155 ratings |
| Women's Biographies | Women's Biographies | ||
| ISBN-13 | 978-1951142278 | 978-1801625180 | 978-1801629027 |
| Publisher | Tin House Books; Reprint edition | Boldwood Books Ltd | |
| Paperback | 224 pages | ||
| Memoirs (Books) | Memoirs | ||
| Language | English | English | English |
| Best Sellers Rank | #155 in Asian & Asian Americans Biographies#2,440 in Women's Biographies#6,640 in Memoirs |
United States on Oct 09, 2023