In a Nutshell:

This is a slightly upsetting yet beautiful and insightful read with a positive ending.

Three Days in That Autumn is a 87 page novella that I raced through.

This novella tells the story of a gynaecologist, we meet her as she approaches the final three days of her working life before retiring. She must face inner demons of her own. She was a victim of a rape during the Korean War and had to undergo an abortion, she then devotes her career to freeing women from  carrying an unwanted baby. In her final three days of work, she recognises that she has a private desire of her own, that she needs to fulfil for the sake of self-healing and redemption.

An Observation:

I was on holiday in Seoul with my husband in 2019 when I discovered this book in the wonderful Kyobu bookshop. Three Days in That Autumn is part of the corpus of books: The Portable Library of Korean Literature.

A Quote:

“The Korean War was the line common to us all, the barrier we had all confronted.”

Book Details:

Publisher: Jimoondang Publishing Company

Publishing Date: 06.10.2002

Author: Pak Wanseo

Park Wan Suh (also Park Wan-seo) was born in 1931 in North Korea. Park entered Seoul National University, but dropped out almost immediately after attending classes due to the outbreak of the Korean War and the death of her brother. During the war, Park was separated from her mother and elder brother by the North Korea army. She lived in the village of Achui, in Guri, outside Seoul until her death.Park died in 2011, suffering from cancer.

There was no information on the translator.

A bit about me!

A bit about me, my name is Jess Andoh-Thayre. I am from Brixton, South London. I currently live in Cambodia. Before living here in Cambodia, I lived in Tanzania with my husband, who is a diplomat. I have also lived in Chile and Spain. I am a French, Spanish and English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher. I recently qualified as a SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator). After taking three years off to have a baby in a pandemic and also retrain, I have just returned to work as an Elementary Learning Support Teacher.