The Magical Language of Others: A Memoir

(Author)
Available
4.9/5.0
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world
Product Details
Price
$22.95  $21.34
Publisher
Tin House Books
Publish Date
Pages
203
Dimensions
5.8 X 8.9 X 0.9 inches | 0.8 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781947793385

Earn by promoting books

Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.

Become an affiliate
About the Author
E. J. Koh is the author of The Magical Language of Others, which won a Washington State Book Award, Pacific Northwest Book Award, and Association for Asian American Studies Book Award, and was longlisted for the PEN Open Book Award. Koh is also the author of the poetry collection A Lesser Love, a Pleiades Press Editors Prize for Poetry winner. Koh's work has appeared in AGNI, the Atlantic, Boston Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Poetry, Slate, World Literature Today, and elsewhere. Koh earned her MFA at Columbia University and her PhD at the University of Washington, and has received National Endowment for the Arts and MacDowell fellowships. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
Reviews
A coming-of-age story, a family story, and a meditation on language and translation, with an emotional range to match.--Caitlin Horrocks, author of The Vexations
Stunning.--Alexander Chee, author of How To Write An Autobiographical Novel
A beautifully crafted saga.--Nicole Chung, author of All You Can Ever Know
Indisputably brilliant.--Jeannie Vanasco, author of Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl
Exquisite. . . . This memoir will pierce you.--Crystal Hana Kim, author of If You Leave Me
Koh remarkably and beautifully translates the language of mothers as the language of survivors.--Don Mee Choi, author of DMZ Colony
I could read this book a thousand times over.--Sarah Blake, author of Naamah
Give yourself over to her narrative territory and the resetting of the borders of lineage, language, and lives lost.--Shawn Wong, author of American Knees
It's really beautiful. . . . A compassionate, vulnerable, sad, and loving book about mother-daughter relationships. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I read it.--Amanda Toronto, WORD Bookstore, as heard on Minneapolis Public Radio
Koh's book is a tremendous gift. . . . A wonder.-- "The San Francisco Chronicle"
A moving portrait of abandonment, forgiveness, and the strength of maternal love.-- "TIME"
Poignant.... Koh writes beautifully of the sacrifices made for love and of the intergenerational tensions between a mother and daughter.-- "Oprah Daily"
A lyrical and profound personal excavation.-- "Buzzfeed, Most Anticipated Book of the Year"
Exquisite.-- "Literary Hub"
A cinematic and multigenerational saga.-- "The Stranger"
Magnificent. . . . This is a memoir that needs to be read more than once.-- "International Examiner"
A haunting, gorgeous narrative that is lonely but lushly told. . . . Brilliant.-- "The Star Tribune"
A beautiful, scorching memoir.-- "Chicago Review of Books"
Weaving the handwritten Korean letters, the English translations and longer chapters recounting her own story intertwined with those of the women who came before her, Koh (who is now based in Seattle) renders a uniquely beautiful work of literature.-- "The Seattle Times"
A masterpiece, a love letter to mothers and daughters everywhere.-- "Shelf Awareness, Starred Review"
Powerful.... [Koh] fearlessly grapples with forgiveness, reconciliation, legacy and intergenerational trauma.-- "Net-A-Porter"
Fascinating.-- "Book Riot"
Powerful. . . . Koh's success as a poet shines through in the beauty and delicacy of her prose.-- "Book Riot"