HISTORICAL
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FICTION
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Chinese Rice Field
Photo credit: Charlie Fong
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Kim Il-sung
(1912-1994) established a pervasive cult of
personality. North Korea officially refers to Kim Il-sung as the
"Great Leader" .
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The Ginseng Hunter
by Jeff Talarigo
Beautiful!
In solitude, a man
hunts ginseng. Following the tradition of his father, he hunts
according to ancient customs. Like his father, communism changes
his life as the effects of politics enter into a world seemingly
isolated from the changes in the country. During a trip to Yanji,
the man hears the tales of a North Korean prostitute. An almost
fairy-tale like story reveals unimaginable poverty and inhumanity, a
story that gives way to other stories of the concrete deprivation and
struggles of individuals on the border of the Tumen river. As the
story unfolds, the politics of the times reach into the isolated
territory of his home, affecting several individuals whose lives
suddenly become intertwined with his, challenging him in his thoughts
and challenging him to act.
In THE GINSENG HUNTER, Jeff
Talarigo presents a stark contrast between the ancient almost mystical
traditions of ginseng hunting and the politics of communism in the
lives of his characters. Unspeakable poverty influences the
actions of his characters, along the border and extending even to
the most remote areas of the land and the human heart. Through
vivid imagery, THE GINSENG HUNTER
details the desperation of those on the edge of survival and the
political, ideological ideas which exasperate the situation. As
in his earlier book, THE PEARL DIVER,
Jeff Talarigo brings out the humanity of his characters in a time of
extreme cruelty. THE
GINSENG HUNTER is not a political treatise but rather a
fictional exploration of the topic and therein lies its beauty.
Through well-chosen images, Jeff Talarigo's vision centers on those
moments in his characters' lives that reveal the crux of the situation
in the interrelationship between characters and as one generation
passes to another, from father to son. As time and politics
unfold, father and son and are different yet interconnected, not only
in details of the ginseng on the mountain but the political effects on
their lives.
In style, THE GINSENG HUNTER is reminiscent of THE PEARL DIVER. Jeff
Talarigo's prose has an elegance in its
beautiful, emotional simplicity and precisely connected images.
The life and journey of the ginseng hunter is not only an individual
and a place but also an inner
journey. In its simplicity and directness, Jeff Talarigo's prose
is at once stark and poetic. In his newest work, Jeff Talarigo
creates a more subtle effect as he narrows his focus and chooses fewer
images to highlight the story. THE
PEARL DIVER hits a reader with a direct force whereas THE GINSENG HUNTER's fictional
beauty evolves more gently. Quite simply, both works are
magnificent but those readers who loved THE PEARL DIVER will find a special
pleasure in the discovery of the evolution of this author's
style. Without sacrificing those elements so special in THE PEARL DIVER, Jeff Talarigo
incorporates them while refining his writing, reducing the life story
of the ginseng hunter to its most essential transformative and poetic
moments in response to the politics of his world. Rather than
simply churning out a carbon copy of his previous work, the author
approaches this new tale with new stylistic insights that match the
subject matter. THE GINSENG
HUNTER is a riveting tale of humanity seen in the face of the
inhumanity of communism --- and a work of art.
Publisher: Anchor
(April 2009)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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