United States
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Folklorn
A New York Times Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novel of 2021
An NPR Best Book of 2021
A genre-defying, continents-spanning saga of Korean myth, scientific discovery, and the abiding love that binds even the most broken of families.
Elsa Park is a particle physicist at the top of her game, stationed at a neutrino observatory in the Antarctic, confident she's put enough distance between her ambitions and the family ghosts she's run from all her life. But it isn't long before her childhood imaginary friend-an achingly familiar, spectral woman in the snow-comes to claim her at last.
Years ago, Elsa's now-catatonic mother had warned her that the women of their line were doomed to repeat the narrative lives of their ancestors from Korean myth and legend. But beyond these ghosts, Elsa also faces a more earthly fate: the mental illness and generational trauma that run in her immigrant family, a sickness no less ravenous than the ancestral curse hunting her.
When her mother breaks her decade-long silence and tragedy strikes, Elsa must return to her childhood home in California. There, among family wrestling with their own demons, she unravels the secrets hidden in the handwritten pages of her mother's dark stories: of women's desire and fury; of magic suppressed, stolen, or punished; of the hunger for vengeance.
From Sparks Fellow, Tin House alumna, and Harvard graduate Angela Mi Young Hur, Folklorn is a wondrous and necessary exploration of the myths we inherit and those we fashion for ourselves.
An NPR Best Book of 2021
A genre-defying, continents-spanning saga of Korean myth, scientific discovery, and the abiding love that binds even the most broken of families.
Elsa Park is a particle physicist at the top of her game, stationed at a neutrino observatory in the Antarctic, confident she's put enough distance between her ambitions and the family ghosts she's run from all her life. But it isn't long before her childhood imaginary friend-an achingly familiar, spectral woman in the snow-comes to claim her at last.
Years ago, Elsa's now-catatonic mother had warned her that the women of their line were doomed to repeat the narrative lives of their ancestors from Korean myth and legend. But beyond these ghosts, Elsa also faces a more earthly fate: the mental illness and generational trauma that run in her immigrant family, a sickness no less ravenous than the ancestral curse hunting her.
When her mother breaks her decade-long silence and tragedy strikes, Elsa must return to her childhood home in California. There, among family wrestling with their own demons, she unravels the secrets hidden in the handwritten pages of her mother's dark stories: of women's desire and fury; of magic suppressed, stolen, or punished; of the hunger for vengeance.
From Sparks Fellow, Tin House alumna, and Harvard graduate Angela Mi Young Hur, Folklorn is a wondrous and necessary exploration of the myths we inherit and those we fashion for ourselves.
Editorial Reviews
"An elegant punch to the face....beautiful and hard and hungry, full of sharp, painful observations, slicing clichés open like prickly pears and devouring their hearts." -New York Times
"[A] beautiful meditation on childhood trauma as well as an exploration into Korean heritage... a gorgeous journey into the intersection of science and myth and how our past traumas shape us – but how they need not define us." – NPR "Best Books of 2021"
"Haunting and spiritual and touching, and so unique. This is absolutely one to be cherished." -"Tor.com 30 Most Anticipated Books of 2021"
"A complex meditation on intergenerational trauma….The honest look at prickly Elsa's internalized racism is ambitious but often brutal in its unflinching execution….This thought-provoking work will appeal to SFF fans who like their talk of particle physics side by side with fox spirits and fairy tales." -Publishers Weekly
"Genre-defying and emotionally unsettling, it is a book that refuses to stay in whatever category the reader wants to put it.... Well worth the effort." -Locus
"Ghost story, family saga, parable, feminist reimagined myth: Angela Mi Young Hur's hugely ambitious Folklorn is a spellbinding shape-shifter of a novel that tackles questions of race, culture, and history head-on, exploring the blurry boundaries between past and present, fact and fantasy, and personal and cultural-or cosmic." -Celeste Ng, bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere
"Vivid and delectable. Angela Mi Young Hur is equally at home working in the fertile territories of myth and the fantastic as in the nuanced portrayal of a contemporary, complex family. I loved this." – Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist and National bestselling author of Get in Trouble
"Dark, difficult, and riveting-Folklorn gave me endless trouble, and I appreciate it." -R. F. Kuang, Astounding Award-winning author of The Poppy War
"In Folklorn, Angela Mi Young Hur weaves the fantastic into the realism of a compelling family saga, creating a heartfelt novel as original as it is irresistible. Pick this up if you're ready to not put it down." -Mat Johnson, author of Pym and Loving Day
"Spectacular. . . .Hur writes with virtuos...
"[A] beautiful meditation on childhood trauma as well as an exploration into Korean heritage... a gorgeous journey into the intersection of science and myth and how our past traumas shape us – but how they need not define us." – NPR "Best Books of 2021"
"Haunting and spiritual and touching, and so unique. This is absolutely one to be cherished." -"Tor.com 30 Most Anticipated Books of 2021"
"A complex meditation on intergenerational trauma….The honest look at prickly Elsa's internalized racism is ambitious but often brutal in its unflinching execution….This thought-provoking work will appeal to SFF fans who like their talk of particle physics side by side with fox spirits and fairy tales." -Publishers Weekly
"Genre-defying and emotionally unsettling, it is a book that refuses to stay in whatever category the reader wants to put it.... Well worth the effort." -Locus
"Ghost story, family saga, parable, feminist reimagined myth: Angela Mi Young Hur's hugely ambitious Folklorn is a spellbinding shape-shifter of a novel that tackles questions of race, culture, and history head-on, exploring the blurry boundaries between past and present, fact and fantasy, and personal and cultural-or cosmic." -Celeste Ng, bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere
"Vivid and delectable. Angela Mi Young Hur is equally at home working in the fertile territories of myth and the fantastic as in the nuanced portrayal of a contemporary, complex family. I loved this." – Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist and National bestselling author of Get in Trouble
"Dark, difficult, and riveting-Folklorn gave me endless trouble, and I appreciate it." -R. F. Kuang, Astounding Award-winning author of The Poppy War
"In Folklorn, Angela Mi Young Hur weaves the fantastic into the realism of a compelling family saga, creating a heartfelt novel as original as it is irresistible. Pick this up if you're ready to not put it down." -Mat Johnson, author of Pym and Loving Day
"Spectacular. . . .Hur writes with virtuos...
Readers Top Reviews
Amanda @ Bookish Bre
Okay, Folklorn was just way more personal to me than I anticipated it to be. It was…. incredibly surprising how close to home it felt. Elsa grew up near me, and I grew up where her Swedish home’s people often emigrate to. I even almost ran to physics as well. Incredibly precise, and almost impossible for me to not rate this so highly. Angela Mi Young Hur was speaking directly to me! Folklorn follows a Korean-American physicist, running away from the culture and folktales of her family and grounding herself in the solid concrete nature of science. Only to find out that you can’t escape your history, and science reflects our lives more than we think. I honestly don’t even know how to review this book. It was beautiful, challenging, eye-opening. The integration of physics to ground Elsa, and to ground me, with the magical exploration of long told and oft lost folktales was stunning. Elsa’s search for herself pushed me to also search for myself within the pages, only to find myself just about as well as she did, in a constant journey. Every little bit of this book is important, and I felt I couldn’t miss anything. From the mention of permanent makeup, especially eyebrows, to communities of immigrants giving each other loans to buy houses and start businesses. Small moments giving us a glimpse into these important, beautiful, communities. Seeing how people are able to band together and grow together by helping each other out in these communities really highlights the importance of the communities we build. All the way down to the moment where we realize that those of us of the diaspora have full right to the stories of our ancestors. It is all deeply important. Anyway, I feel that I can’t put into words how this book felt so close to me so I will just say: go read it. It’s wonderful. Big Takeaway Read Folklorn. It is important. It is beautiful, and wonderful, and I absolutely applaud what Angela Mi Young Hur was able to accomplish here.
Corn CobChrista Char
I believe it is difficult growing up an Asian in a European society. I consider the USA to be a European society in this case. I suppose it is also difficult being European, or African in an Asian society. This book is filled with complaints about how bad things are. It is also not science fiction, but might be fantasy.
Aleshia Huber (Mad S
Elsa is a physicist studying in Antarctica when she unexpectedly starts seeing her childhood imaginary friend again. Soon after, she learns that her mother has passed away, so she must return to her childhood home of California. Could it be that this imaginary friend is actually a ghost related to her mother in some way? Elsa tries to search for answers by uncovering her mother's secrets and dealing with her other family members. I'm having a difficult time putting together thoughts for this book. It is an incredible perspective of a Korean American woman and how her experience has shaped her views and her life. It also explores dealing with grief, loss, abuse, and generational trauma. Much of this is explored through Korean folktales that Elsa's mother left behind that tie into a magical realism component of the story. There is a lot going on and it's at times can be a heavy read, but also very beautifully written. I don't think I've ever read such a genuine and believable perspective before; Elsa just felt so real. I recommend if you enjoy magical realism tales that cover heavy topics and connects you to characters in a way that has you feel the same emotions.
