CHANG-Rae-Lee has written The Surrendered in an emotion-trauma canvas, touching the heart. The Korean war leaves 11 year old June Han an orphan. She is rescued by an American soldier Hector, who brings her to a camp in Seoul. Sylvie, the wife of the missionary of the orphanage offers love as a soothing balm to both Hector and June. But Sylvie herself is a victim of a difficult past. June travels to the US and builds a business in New York. She is estranged from her husband and child. Thirty years later, June sets out on a journey with Hector to confront her past, his past, both irretrievably linked to Sylvie. Lee’s compelling story brings out the anguish and the horror of war, shows how even after the last bullet had been fired, the sound of the gunfire continues to haunt the victims. This is Lee’s fourth novel. -VN
