Friday, March 19, 2010

Color of Heaven by Kim Dong Hwa


The final volume in this manwha trilogy about a widowed tavern owner and her daughter ends happily with two weddings. I admire Kim Dong Hwa's delicate drawings. I enjoyed learning details about village life in historical Korea too. I was not so enamoured with the sappy, sexist stuff. For example, when Ewha talks to her mother about leaving her in order to marry, her mother offers these platitudes, in six panels, all in a row: "Pickles taste better the longer they sit, but an unmarried woman gets crankier the longer she's single." "It's better to arrive early and get a good seat to a show, and it's better to marry early and establish yourself." "Only foolish women complain that married life is hard. If you think about it, there is nothing better in life than getting married. There's a shoulder you can always lean on - There's a chest you can always embrace - There's a face you can always stare into." Help! The scariest thing to me is that so many contemporary women continue to believe these things. Anyway, fans of romance will likely enjoy this entire trilogy. I liked the first book, Color of Earth, the best. Grade 10 - up.

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