Native Speaker (novel)

Last updated

Native Speaker
Native Speaker cover first edition.jpg
Author Chang-Rae Lee
LanguageEnglish
GenreLiterary fiction
Publisher Riverhead Books
Publication date
1995
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages368 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN 978-1573225311
OCLC 38863471

Native Speaker (1995), author Chang-Rae Lee's debut novel, explores the life of a Korean-American man named Henry Park as he navigates his marriage and career as a spy. Native Speaker explores the themes of language, identity, and culture [1] as an Asian-American, and is considered a literary fiction as well as a spy thriller. [2] The novel won the 1996 PEN/Hemingway award for Best First Novel, and though not the first novel by a Korean American author to be published by a major American publisher (that honor belongs to East Goes West, by Younghill Kang, Scribner's, 1935 [3] it is the first contemporary novel in that category, published by Riverhead Books. [4] [5]

Contents

Synopsis

Native Speaker follows Henry Park, a Korean-American living in New York City during the 90s. Henry struggles with the recent separation from his wife, Lelia, who is white, following the death of their seven-year-old son. He also works at Glimmer & Co., a firm hired by clients to gather information on various subjects, typically immigrants and people of color. As a spy, Henry is tasked with the job of going undercover to investigate John Kwang, a Korean-American councilman and potential candidate for the next mayoral race. While Henry starts to gain Kwang's trust, he begins grappling with the implications of his impending betrayal, knowing that his actions will harm a fellow Korean American.

Characters

The Park family

John Kwang's family and staff

Glimmer & Co.

Others

Major themes

Henry is the quintessential Korean-American, as much of his Korean heritage resonates through his voice, personality, and beliefs. His Korean upbringing still shows up in his adult life. Like many American immigrants trying to find an identity in a foreign land, Henry is an "...emotional alien...stranger [and] follower..." who constantly feels isolated from the country in which he lives and also the country from which he came. Even though he is American, Henry Park feels a constant alienation and sense of isolation. There are many challenges that come with fitting into American life because of the difference in culture, beliefs, behavior; and because of the desire to still hold on to one's heritage. [6]

Awards and nominations

The novel is referenced in the film Estuaries by German director Lior Shamriz, in a scene between the protagonist's sister Ropnit and her therapist. In a conversation about diaspora and exile, Ronit refers to Los Angeles as "what Chung Rae-Lee called the Last Babylon". [8]

References

  1. Rand Richards Cooper (April 9, 1995). "Excess Identities: A Korean-American novelist's tale of assimilation and betrayal". The New York Times.
  2. "Between Genres: On Chang-rae Lee's Realism". Los Angeles Review of Books. January 10, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  3. Ed Park (April 23, 2020). "Like No One They'd Ever Seen". The New York Review of Books.
  4. 1 2 "List of PEN/Hemingway Winners". The Hemingway Society. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  5. Yang, June Unjoo (March 31, 1995). "Native Speaker". A. Magazine.
  6. "Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee". Penguin Books USA. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  7. "Barnes & Noble Names Winners of the 27th Annual Discover Awards". Authorlink. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  8. "Estuaries Review - Outfest LA Film Festival 2022". but Why Tho?. July 24, 2022.