Honey in the Wound
16 April 2026Imprint: Manilla Press
Synopsis
Spanning ninety years as one family of gifted Korean women's lives are upended under Japanese imperialism, Honey in the Wound is a powerful and sweeping debut novel for fans of Pachinko and Homegoing.
A daughter disappears and returns as a tiger. A mother's voice compels those who hear it to speak only the truth. A granddaughter can see the dreams of others, revealing their deepest-held memories and desires.
Spanning ninety years as one family is displaced across Asia, this novel follows Young-Ja, who finds herself struggling to survive after her family is killed by Japanese soldiers. The magical gift that once brought her comfort and joy-the ability to infuse her cooking with her feelings: love, peace, delight-transforms into something more complex as her sorrow and anger seeps into her confections.
When her talent is noticed by a Korean resistance fighter, she's taken to Manchuria where she becomes enmeshed in a network of spies at a teahouse favoured by Japanese officials. Haunted at every turn by the spectre of Japanese soldiers, she endures horrors and brutality at the hands of the Imperial Army.
With spellbinding intergenerational sweep and atmospheric and folkloric magical realism, Honey in the Wound explores the ways colonialism forces one family to transform, and ultimately survive.
A daughter disappears and returns as a tiger. A mother's voice compels those who hear it to speak only the truth. A granddaughter can see the dreams of others, revealing their deepest-held memories and desires.
Spanning ninety years as one family is displaced across Asia, this novel follows Young-Ja, who finds herself struggling to survive after her family is killed by Japanese soldiers. The magical gift that once brought her comfort and joy-the ability to infuse her cooking with her feelings: love, peace, delight-transforms into something more complex as her sorrow and anger seeps into her confections.
When her talent is noticed by a Korean resistance fighter, she's taken to Manchuria where she becomes enmeshed in a network of spies at a teahouse favoured by Japanese officials. Haunted at every turn by the spectre of Japanese soldiers, she endures horrors and brutality at the hands of the Imperial Army.
With spellbinding intergenerational sweep and atmospheric and folkloric magical realism, Honey in the Wound explores the ways colonialism forces one family to transform, and ultimately survive.
Details
16 April 2026320 pages
9781786587329Imprint: Manilla Press
