Greek Lessons

Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature

By: Han Kang, Deborah Smith - translator, e. yaewon - translator

Narrated by: Greta Jung, Earl T. Kim

Brought to you by Penguin.

The unforgettable novel from Booker International Prize winner Han Kang, author of The Vegetarian.

In this compelling and beautifully-patterned novel, Han Kang tells the interwoven stories of a Greek instructor who is losing his sight and a woman who refuses to speak. Uniquely involving, and thoughtful, it explores the depths and limits of human connection.

A remarkable and timeless writer, Han Kang's words and stories go to the heart of what it means to be human - to be a species capable of both utmost violence and utmost love. With enormous tact, clarity and tenderness she examines the lives of the overlooked and the little seen, affording them a grace and dignity which makes them unforgettable.

'Han Kang is what most writers spend their lives trying to be: a fearless, unsentimental teller of human truths' Lisa McInerney

'Han Kang's vivid and at times violent storytelling will wake up even the most jaded of literary palates' Independent

©2023 Han Kang (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

By turns love letter to and critique of language itself, Greek Lessons is a brief yet, in its concision and finesse, lapidary work . . . one of Han's most intimate works

In Greek Lessons Kang reaches beyond the usual senses to translate the unspeakable . . . Han Kang turns the well-worn idea of the mind-body disconnect into something fresh and substantial

This novel is a celebration of the ineffable trust to be found in sharing language . . . [Han] is an astute chronicler of unusual, insubordinate women

Han Kang is a writer like no other. In a few lines, she seems to traverse the entirety of human experience (Katie Kitamura)

Han Kang's vivid and at times violent storytelling will wake up even the most jaded of literary palates

An elliptical, enigmatic book . . . Han's style creates mystery

Han Kang's hypnotic Greek Lessons probes the limits of language

Han Kang is what most writers spend their lives trying to be: a fearless, unsentimental teller of human truths . . . Han Kang is a genius (Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies)

Another stunning gem: quiet, sharply faceted, and devastating

It's only ok

It's very poetically and beautifully written, but the story failed to grab me. The sporadic episodes of philosophical lectures didn't sit well with me - while interesting, they were too long to just set the scene and at the same time too short to truly introduce them for actual consideration by the reader. The narrators were incredible.