El Club de Los Libros Prohibidos/ Banned Book Club - (El Club de los Libros Prohibidos/ Banned Book Club) by Kim Hyun Sook & Ko Hyung-Ju (Paperback)

About the Book

When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and sort-of convincing her traditional mother that it was a good idea for a woman to go to college, she looked forward to soaking up the ideas of Western Literature far from the drudgery she was promised at her family's restaurant. But literature class would prove to be just the start of a massive turning point, still focused on reading but with life-or-death stakes she never could have imagined. This was during South Korea's Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protestors. In this charged political climate, with Molotov cocktails flying and fellow students disappearing for hours and returning with bruises, Hyun Sook sought refuge in the comfort of books. When the handsome young editor of the school newspaper invited her to his reading group, she expected to pop into the cafeteria to talk about Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Scarlet Letter. Instead she found herself hiding in a basement as the youngest member of an underground banned book club. And as Hyun Sook soon discovered, in a totalitarian regime, the delights of discovering great works of illicit literature are quickly overshadowed by fear and violence as the walls close in. In BANNED BOOK CLUB, Hyun Sook shares a dramatic true story of political division, fear-mongering, anti-intellectualism, the death of democratic institutions, and the relentless rebellion of reading.

Book Synopsis

Una maravillosa novela gráfica basada en hechos reales.

Una crónica trepidante sobre la rebelión estudiantil y la amistad que provocan los libros.

La novela gráfica de mayor éxito en Estados Unidos y Corea.

Kim Hyun Sook, obediente hija de los dueños de un modesto restaurante de Corea del Sur, siempre había sido una estudiante apolítica y el orgullo de la familia, a quien agradecía eternamente el esfuerzo para sufragar los gastos de su matrícula universitaria. Un día, siguiendo el consejo de su tutor, se une al equipo de danza folclórica de la facultad, donde conoce a un compañero que la invita a un club de lectura prohibido. Cohibida al principio, Kim acepta por sus ganas de conocimiento y su pasión por la lectura, hasta que se da cuenta que los libros seleccionados por el club (Moby Dick, La letra escarlata, Hamlet...) tienen un denominador común revelador: todos denuncian, de una forma u otra, el régimen opresivo del país y alientan a rebelarse contra el mismo.

Memorias personales de la propia Kim Hyun Sook en estilo manhwa sobre la corrupción política y la pérdida de la inocencia a través de la literatura, El Club de los Libros Prohibidos es una novela gráfica sobre la supervivencia y el empoderamiento de la juventud en un entorno dictatorial opresivo plagado de fake news y censura. El poder del miedo ejercido por los gobiernos y los peligros de la pacificación mediante el entretenimiento evidencian que el régimen coreano tenía perfectamente controlada a la población para distraerla de su flagrante sistema corrupto. Solo el activismo estudiantil nos salvará del sistema. El libro pone énfasis en cómo las democracias deben ser constantemente actualizadas mediante la educación, la vigilancia y la acción, y rinde tributo a la resistencia que los jóvenes pueden y deben ejercer contra la opresión.

«Emocionante novela de crecimiento que invita a la reflexión.» Kirkus Reviews

«Muy recomendable para lectores apasionados por el activismo o la historia política, o para aquellos que simplemente buscan una excelente historia.» SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review

«Captura de manera conmovedora el viaje de la activista de Kim como una joven estudiante con una resonancia conmovedora que seguramente inspirará a la generación juvenil actual.» BOOKLIST, Starred Review

«Los mensajes de esperanza son universales, al igual que los conmovedores recordatorios de que el cambio puede ocurrir cuando la gente está dispuesta a hablar.» PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

«Combinando la intriga política de la vida real con un elenco atractivo, El Club de los Libros Prohibidos es un bildungsroman gráfico emocionante que invita a la reflexión.» FOREWORD REVIEWS

«Un homenaje a la resistencia de los jóvenes frente a la opresión.» SLATE

«Es difícil imaginar un mundo en el que este cómic sea más relevante de lo que es ahora.» A.V. CLUB

«El Club de los Libros Prohibidos es la autobiografía definitiva que llega una vez cada generación. No hay nada como esto en tu estanterías.» BLACK NERD PROBLEMS

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
A Junior Library Guild Selection

"Highly recommended for readers passionate about activism." ― SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review

"Sure to inspire today's youthful generation of tenacious changemakers." ― BOOKLIST, Starred Review

"The messages of hope are universal." ― PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

"A timely read about friendship amid chaos." ― NPR

"It's hard to imagine a world where Banned Book Club could be more relevant than it is right now." ― A.V. CLUB

When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and sort-of convincing her traditional mother that it was a good idea for a woman to go to college, she looked forward to soaking up the ideas of Western Literature far from the drudgery she was promised at her family's restaurant. But literature class would prove to be just the start of a massive turning point, still focused on reading but with life-or-death stakes she never could have imagined.

This was during South Korea's Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protestors. In this charged political climate, with Molotov cocktails flying and fellow students disappearing for hours and returning with bruises, Hyun Sook sought refuge in the comfort of books. When the handsome young editor of the school newspaper invited her to his reading group, she expected to pop into the cafeteria to talk about Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Scarlet Letter. Instead she found herself hiding in a basement as the youngest member of an underground banned book club. And as Hyun Sook soon discovered, in a totalitarian regime, the delights of discovering great works of illicit literature are quickly overshadowed by fear and violence as the walls close in.

In BANNED BOOK CLUB, Hyun Sook shares a dramatic true story of political division, fear-mongering, anti-intellectualism, the death of democratic institutions, and the relentless rebellion of reading.