The Bronze Medal winner in the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Best Adults Fiction E-book category.
The latest from Korean-American author Maija Rhee Devine, The Voices of Heaven is a rare gem in English-language literature about Korea, a story that takes us deep into the devotion and secrets of a family living in Seoul at the cusp of the Korean War. A tale that spans decades, The Voices of Heaven has been expertly woven together to reveal not only the injustices of unmitigated life circumstances but also the restorative power of truth and love. Maija Rhee Devine presents a stellar cast of empathetic characters to spin a tale that draws readers into the shadows of Korea’s Confucian web that at once constrains and defines the powerful will of its people.
Synopsis
During the final years of the Japanese Occupation, when most Korean brides and grooms were married sight unseen, Gui-yong and Eum-chun strike gold by finding a love as sweet as sticky rice. But their love for each other and for their secretly adopted daughter is not enough, as they must soon accept the impossible—a mistress moving in to bear Gui-yong the male child deemed necessary in a society still smoldering in Confucianism. After the Korean War drives the family apart, it falls on the shoulders of their adopted daughter, Mi-na, to figure out how to keep her parents’ love burning through this life and into the next—and ultimately make sense of the past.
Flowing from her firsthand experience of growing up in Seoul during the Korean War, Maija Rhee Devine’s novel reveals uniquely Korean colors and sounds as she leads readers through an extraordinary love story that parallels the tragedies of the war.
About the author
Maija Rhee Devine, a Korean-born writer whose fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Boulevard, North American Review, The Kenyon Review, and anthologies, holds a BA in English from Sogang University in Seoul and an MA in English from St. Louis University. Writing honors include an NEA grant and nominations for a Pushcart Prize and an O. Henry Award.
The author is married to Michael J. Devine, the director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, MO.
Reviews
"A realistic sketch of a Korea that few Westerners have seen . . . A complex, uniquely Korean love story that shouldn’t be missed." --Kirkus Reviews
Yonhap News in Korean
여성의 눈으로 보고 듣고 겪은 한국전쟁 이야기
한국전 배경 한인女작가 소설 美독립출판상 받아
Yonhap News in English
American writer-Korean War novel
Korea Herald
War, Childhood and family secrets
헤럴드 경제
재미교포 작가 이매자 영문소설 '보이시즈 오브 헤븐' 美 독립출판도서상 수상
Korea Times
Realities of the Confucian past
Worldyan News
Maija Rhee Devine "Voices of Heaven"
여성신문
한국전쟁이 여성에게 남긴것 "집으로부터의 해방"
NAVER
재미교포 작가 이매자 영문소설 '보이시즈 오브 헤븐' 美 독립출판도서상 수상
Live and Dream a Little Dream
Amazon Reviews
Barnes & Noble Reviews
TEDx Talks
A message that "turns over" our perception of sexuality by author Maija Rhee Devine
경향신문
한국전 배경 영문소설 이매자 작가, 미 독립출판도서상
한국일보
한국전때 가부장제 붕괴 그린 소설로 70대 한인 작가, 미국 독립출판상 수상
세계일보
6.25 다룬 재미 한인 소설 '美 독립출판도서상'
The International Examiner
‘Voices of Heaven’ uncovers voices of women in postcolonial Korea
Literary Awards
2013 Kirkus Best Book Recommendations - Fiction & Literature
2013 USA Best Book Awards Finalist - Fiction: Historical, Multicultural
2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Best Adults Fiction E-book category - The Bronze Medal winner