A Gesture Life

E821956

A Gesture Life is a novel by Chang-rae Lee that explores identity, memory, and the lingering trauma of war through the life of a reserved Korean American man.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
A Gesture Life canonical 1

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf novel
author Chang-rae Lee NERFINISHED
authorNationality Korean American
character K NERFINISHED
Mary Burns NERFINISHED
Sunny Hata NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
criticalReception widely acclaimed by literary critics
explores adoption and family relationships
cross-cultural identity
the gap between public persona and private self
the psychological impact of war crimes
followedBy Aloft NERFINISHED
genre historical fiction
literary fiction
war novel
hasISBN 9781573225114
hasNarrativePerspective first-person narration
hasPageCount 356 (approximate, depending on edition)
language English
mainCharacter Doc Hata NERFINISHED
Franklin Hata NERFINISHED
mediaType print
notableFor its exploration of Asian American identity
its restrained narrative voice
partOf Asian American literature
precededBy Native Speaker NERFINISHED
protagonistNationality Korean American
publicationYear 1999
publisher Riverhead Books NERFINISHED
publisherImprint Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Putnam NERFINISHED
setting World War II NERFINISHED
suburban New York
structure nonlinear narrative
subjectMatter Japanese imperial army
Korean comfort women
postwar immigrant life in America
theme assimilation
guilt
identity
immigrant experience
memory
race
repression of emotion
the legacy of violence
trauma
war
timePeriodCovered World War II era NERFINISHED
late 20th century

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Chang-rae Lee notableWork A Gesture Life