FICTION

Shelter

Picador. Mar. 2016. 336p. ISBN 9781250075611. $26; ebk. ISBN 9781250075642. F
COPY ISBN
OrangeReviewStarFaced with financial crisis, college professor Kyung Cho and his wife, Gillian, are considering selling their overmortgaged home. During the initial realtor meeting, the couple discovers Kyung's mother wandering disoriented and naked beyond their backyard. Kyung misunderstands his mother's garbled Korean—the language she reverts to in shock although she's fluent in English—and concludes that she's been battered by his father again. But when he enters his parents' impeccable manse-on-the-hill seeking answers, he's shattered to find that his parents and their housekeeper are the victims of a heinous crime. As the extended Korean Irish American family attempts to reclaim their fractured lives, Kyung's decades-long suppressed rage at his abusive father and submissive mother threatens to destroy any semblance of resolution and recovery. Amid ramshackle houses and pristine abodes, finding true shelter is an elusive challenge for all.
VERDICT So wowed was Picador with Yun's debut novel that hundreds of extra galleys were printed to share with colleagues. How prescient indeed, because like Celeste Ng's superlauded best seller, Everything You Never Told Me, also about a dysfunctional mixed-race family's tragedy, this work should find itself on best-of lists, among major award nominations, and in eager readers' hands everywhere. [See Prepub Alert, 9/28/15.]
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.


RELATED 

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?