Author – Pejay Bradley

Publication date- 2 March 2019

Genre – Historical fiction

Review by – Prakriti Singh

Source- Review copy

Rating- 5/5      

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Korea inherits in itself a strict culture where the women are forced to obey the customs, and traditions without any exception. They are married, with or without their will, and are accustomed to follow obedient wife and mother rules till their last breath. The Koreans are very proud of their culture but the Japanese are taking away all of it from them. Slowly and gradually, Japanese are establishing control over the whole country and the Koreans are not happy. They are fighting: fighting for their freedom; fighting to win their country, their culture and their heritage back.

The Vanished is set in early 20^th century in Korea where the customs of the country are rigorously followed. The story starts with the birth of Embon, child of Lady Sougyon, grandson of Prince Aansoon. He lives a luxurious life till he is sent to study abroad and encounters the actual problems that the Koreans face in terms of freedom. The story also revolves around the life of a married but abandoned wife and a middle-class man who is working everyday to provide good future to his family.

The characters in the book are very well chosen so as to provide different perspectives to the same situation. It makes the reader more resourceful of what is happening in the country and also gives a clear insight into the story. The book is divided into parts to keep the reader from getting confused. I really liked how - many stories were connected to a single whole story of struggling for freedom in the country. It breaks the usual monotonous tone of going along a single path of view. In this book, each character had their own view and even the less important characters had their background represented to the reader.

I like the book very much. By the end of the book, I was feeling with the characters, mourning if something bad happened and enjoying with their success (though there are only handful of insights of joy in the story). I got carried along well and was feeling more and more curious about what would happen next in the story. The book is quite engrossing.

The book changes from the explanation of the strict customs and traditions in the country to the fight of Koreans for their freedom. I found the beginning of the story quite boring but later on realized that it was for good understanding of the story. If anyone reading the book wants to give up just because of being bored in the beginning, please don’t, the book will surprise you a lot in the later parts.

I give the book 5 out of 5 stars. This book was recommended to me as the book of the month for January and I am quite satisfied with their selection. But the reason why I give this book 5 stars is that it contains in itself some instances involving many other countries too like Russia, America, and China and may connect to the history of all. It also gives a brief account of the people of other countries. In all, this book is very resourceful and a good read for anyone who likes history and to study different cultures. This book is a good one from its genre and defines it well.