The Black Bow: Wind, Forest and Choice

When life moves quickly, it can be hard to make time for fiction. At school, reading a novel was part of the curriculum. As an adult, finding an afternoon for it can feel like a luxury.

I happened across The Black Bow, a novel set in the early history of Korea.

A Novel Set in the World of Goguryeo

The story takes place in the era of Goguryeo, Dongye and Okjeo. The historical setting gives the novel a frame, with invented people and places shaped by Choi Yun-jeong’s imagination.

The Bow That Runs Through the Story

The bow of the title ties the story together, though the book ranges more widely. At times it has the sweep of a historical epic.

Some events come from the history of Goguryeo, including its brief seizure of Seoanpyeong and a crisis when the state of Wei attacked.

Imagination does most of the work between those historical points. Some passages are close in spirit to fantasy.

An Ending That Holds Back the Resolution

History and invention give the story momentum. One event leads to another, and a solution always seems just ahead.

The pace is quick, and Choi keeps the tension up across successive scenes.

My frustration was with the ending. Just as I wanted to see how the characters would get out of the situation, the book stopped. The anticipation was still there, with nowhere for it to go.

In that respect, it reminded me of the ending of Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49.

The openness may well be deliberate. It is a choice I find less satisfying when the story has made me care about how the characters will act. A sudden deus ex machina would have felt unearned too.

I wanted the novel to carry its tension through to a resolution I could believe. That is where it left me wanting more.

The book still has a strong hold on the imagination. Its world is the reason I kept wanting to know what came next.

Book Information

The Black Bow: Wind, Forest and Choice

Author

Choi Yun-jeong

Publication date

14 August 2015

ISBN

9791155856871

View book at Kyobo Book Centre

OWL MAGAZINE may earn a commission from purchases made through the affiliate link in this article.