cover image The Color of Heaven

The Color of Heaven

Dong Hwa Kim, . . First Second, $16.99 (320pp) ISBN 978-1-59643-460-8

Seventeen-year-old Ehwa bids good-bye to the man she wants to marry as the final volume of this delicate and poetic Korean historical trilogy opens. Her mother is simultaneously full of angry concern and understanding sympathy—each woman must wait, tending flowers and hoping to see their loves again. It's fascinating to see such a female-centered generational story, but it's a shame that, due to the time period, the women can take no action. They are passive, waiting, because “that is the heart of a woman”; their lives are incomplete without a man. Natural metaphors and seasonal images give the story texture: trees are undressed; male organs are chili peppers; and young men are butterflies flitting among flowers. Village girls see naked neighbors; men who aspire too much in their love are beaten to death; and marriage proposals come to the prettiest. The art is as minimally poetic as the content. Panels are spare, with plenty of white space, and the eyes are most often stacks of horizontal lines, making the characters seem thoughtful or as though they're looking sidelong at life. (Sept.)