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The Melancholy of Untold History
A beautifully crafted, enriching saga inspired by East Asian mythology, The Melancholy of Untold History is Minsoo Kang’s debut novel, steeped in history like R.F. Kuang’s Babel , epic in scope like Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land , and lyrically exciting like David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas , interweaving four complex yet entertaining stories as they shape and create a nation’s literary narrative through the themes of love and grief. A history professor mourning his wife. His young protégé’s search for a path forward. Four witty mountain gods with much to say and not enough time to listen. A gifted storyteller bringing a world into being out of thin air... Famous for his dispelling of the national myth, the Historian understands the power of narrative. He has inspired another young professor to search for her own truths, while trying to understand the way fiction creates fact and how sometimes the past can only be understood by filling in holes with a new narrative. Which is exactly what he needs when his wife passes away to parse meaning out of a world that no longer makes sense. Together the protégé and the Historian find comfort in each other. Yet they know their time together is fleeting, as time usually is. Only the gods have an abundance of time, and yet—the two discover—even that might not be so clear cut. Part of their homeland’s myth tells of four gods who squabbled and argued and destroyed and rebuilt time and again. Or did they? Because, of course, even the gods need mouthpieces on earth. And the one the Historian knows of—the elusive Storyteller—may have just been spinning tales for his own amusement and, ultimately, revenge. By fabricating the exploits of the gods, he could have set a course for certain events to unfold and a particular story to survive today. Spanning 3,000 years and multiple voices—with tales within tales woven expertly together— The Melancholy of Untold History reveals a people and its individuals who seek to confront the hardships of life through storytelling. Mixing the East Asian mythos with a postmodern approach to standard sci-fi/fantasy narrative tropes, Minsoo Kang has created a challenging, beautiful, sad, humorous, and ultimately unforgettable novel of love, grief, and myth-making.
240 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication July 16, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 6, 2024
thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy.
Minsoo Kang’s "The Melancholy of Untold History" offers a unique blend of history, myth, and narrative complexity that makes for an intriguing read, even if it doesn't always hit the mark. The story revolves around a grieving history professor and his young protégé, weaving together their personal journeys with the mythic exploits of four mountain gods and the elusive Storyteller.
The strength of the novel lies in its ambitious scope and Kang’s ability to intertwine various narratives. The exploration of how stories shape our understanding of history and reality is thought-provoking, and the inclusion of East Asian mythology adds a rich, cultural layer to the tale.
However, the novel's complexity can sometimes be its downfall. The multitude of voices and stories within stories can make the plot feel disjointed. While the philosophical musings on grief and the power of narrative are compelling, they occasionally overshadow character development, making it hard to fully connect with the protagonists.
The interactions between the professor and his protégé provide some touching moments, highlighting their shared struggle to find meaning after loss. The mountain gods' witty banter adds humor and a sense of timelessness, contrasting nicely with the more grounded human experiences.
Overall, "The Melancholy of Untold History" is a beautifully written and intellectually stimulating book, but its dense structure and occasional narrative tangents might not be for everyone.
Minsoo Kang’s "The Melancholy of Untold History" offers a unique blend of history, myth, and narrative complexity that makes for an intriguing read, even if it doesn't always hit the mark. The story revolves around a grieving history professor and his young protégé, weaving together their personal journeys with the mythic exploits of four mountain gods and the elusive Storyteller.
The strength of the novel lies in its ambitious scope and Kang’s ability to intertwine various narratives. The exploration of how stories shape our understanding of history and reality is thought-provoking, and the inclusion of East Asian mythology adds a rich, cultural layer to the tale.
However, the novel's complexity can sometimes be its downfall. The multitude of voices and stories within stories can make the plot feel disjointed. While the philosophical musings on grief and the power of narrative are compelling, they occasionally overshadow character development, making it hard to fully connect with the protagonists.
The interactions between the professor and his protégé provide some touching moments, highlighting their shared struggle to find meaning after loss. The mountain gods' witty banter adds humor and a sense of timelessness, contrasting nicely with the more grounded human experiences.
Overall, "The Melancholy of Untold History" is a beautifully written and intellectually stimulating book, but its dense structure and occasional narrative tangents might not be for everyone.
June 9, 2024
ARC gifted by the publisher
This novel will be very polarizing. I can see this working for patient readers, those who love unconventional structures, metafiction enthusiasts.
As metafiction, it really depends on what the reader takes away from the story. So I’m marking this review as spoiler because the themes don’t really become clear until the epilogue
I really love the themes of “untold stories”—why they exist and their significance to readers. The relationships between readers and writers is another fascinating aspect of the book.
What didn’t work for me is the execution. It’s pretty much all telling and 0 characters development. I didn’t care about the multiple stories at all because I couldn’t get a sense of who these people are.
I also really dislike the naming conventions in the book, some examples—Dragon Child National University, Radiant Tiger People, Four Verdant Mothers, Radiant Dynasty, Lord Fiery Dedication, etc. Maybe I missed the deeper meaning but it sounds so childish I couldn’t take it seriously.
Tbh the book reads like Wikipedia summary rather than an actual novel. It’s like the author wrote out a detailed plot of “A happened and then B and then C” and left it at that.
So while the premise is interesting and the themes have a lot of potential, they’re not enough to make up for the poor execution.
I suggest reading these books if you’re looking for books with similar topics:
- A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING
- LONG DIVISION
- 地底三萬呎 (not translated to English)
This novel will be very polarizing. I can see this working for patient readers, those who love unconventional structures, metafiction enthusiasts.
As metafiction, it really depends on what the reader takes away from the story. So I’m marking this review as spoiler because the themes don’t really become clear until the epilogue
I really love the themes of “untold stories”—why they exist and their significance to readers. The relationships between readers and writers is another fascinating aspect of the book.
What didn’t work for me is the execution. It’s pretty much all telling and 0 characters development. I didn’t care about the multiple stories at all because I couldn’t get a sense of who these people are.
I also really dislike the naming conventions in the book, some examples—Dragon Child National University, Radiant Tiger People, Four Verdant Mothers, Radiant Dynasty, Lord Fiery Dedication, etc. Maybe I missed the deeper meaning but it sounds so childish I couldn’t take it seriously.
Tbh the book reads like Wikipedia summary rather than an actual novel. It’s like the author wrote out a detailed plot of “A happened and then B and then C” and left it at that.
So while the premise is interesting and the themes have a lot of potential, they’re not enough to make up for the poor execution.
I suggest reading these books if you’re looking for books with similar topics:
- A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING
- LONG DIVISION
- 地底三萬呎 (not translated to English)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2024
(Note: I received an advanced reader copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
I really liked the book's initial premise, in where a China-esque country's mythological past, historical past, and present-day each were given their own storylines that quickly intertwined with one another. I also enjoyed the mythological plot and how it blended with the historical elements. Unfortunately, I found the present-day plot to be the weak from its very start, and it made the book the equivalent of an unbalanced three-legged stool. Also, while I applaud Minsoo Kang's creative efforts with the addition of several meta elements, their execution ended up falling a little flat especially at the very end. Overall, I just found The Melancholy of Untold History to end up being much less than the sum of all of its initial parts.
I really liked the book's initial premise, in where a China-esque country's mythological past, historical past, and present-day each were given their own storylines that quickly intertwined with one another. I also enjoyed the mythological plot and how it blended with the historical elements. Unfortunately, I found the present-day plot to be the weak from its very start, and it made the book the equivalent of an unbalanced three-legged stool. Also, while I applaud Minsoo Kang's creative efforts with the addition of several meta elements, their execution ended up falling a little flat especially at the very end. Overall, I just found The Melancholy of Untold History to end up being much less than the sum of all of its initial parts.
May 23, 2024
A unique read for me. I liked the different views and time periods between the storyteller and historian. This was a very different approach with elements of East Asian mythology and fantasy and a weaving of different stories spanning over 3000 years. The ending pulled together well. Thank you William Morrow Books for the advanced copy. Give it a try…July 24 release date.
Shelved as '2024'
May 31, 2024📱 Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow
May 22, 2024
I won this rc through Goodreads. It was a ok book. I just had a hard time getting into the different stories throughout the book.
June 14, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. There were so many human emotions addressed, from forgiveness, loss, betrayal and the list goes on. The one thing that stuck with me was how friendships/relationships can be destroyed over very insignificant things. I guess you would say when we make mountains out of molehills. I would recommend others to read this book to see how it touches your heart as it did mine.
June 24, 2024
This novel will be great for fans of Cloud Atlas, Cloud Cuckoo Land, The Vanished Birds, and narratives that take place across similar distance & scope. The novel tells two stories in parallel: the first from the prospective of prominent historian grieving the recent death of his wife, and the second speculative history of his homeland across thousands of years and multiple generations. Woven into the tale is the tension between history and myth, as the historian works to uncover historical fabrications in one timeline as stories of gods, monsters, and cycles of reincarnation play out in the other.
This story is heavy on the metafiction, with characters behaving irreverently and offering tongue and cheek perspectives on their story in real time, an explicit indictment of history as a constructed entity built by those with power and influence. The day-to-day of the historian's life and experiences are drastic foil to the more mythologized portions, musing on the relationship between the stories we construct for society and those we construct for ourselves. Both narratives explore grief, forgiveness, and the inescapable human mandate to make meaning of difficult experiences at virtually any cost.
This story is heavy on the metafiction, with characters behaving irreverently and offering tongue and cheek perspectives on their story in real time, an explicit indictment of history as a constructed entity built by those with power and influence. The day-to-day of the historian's life and experiences are drastic foil to the more mythologized portions, musing on the relationship between the stories we construct for society and those we construct for ourselves. Both narratives explore grief, forgiveness, and the inescapable human mandate to make meaning of difficult experiences at virtually any cost.
May 23, 2024
I find it hard to put into words how I feel about a book so vast in scope and so uniquely expressed. I'm a much greater reader than I am a reviewer, so it'll have to be enough to express, simply, how enthralled I was by the story, riveted by its cyclical themes, and impressed by how well Minsoo Kang connected what seemed originally to be disparate details and storylines into a seamless narrative.
While it was a little slow at times, the payoff was perfection. The prose was also gorgeous, detailed, and very frequently hilarious. Kang balanced serious themes with quite frequent irreverent interludes that kept the story from being too heavy. Overall, I had a great time with this book, and I'm looking forward to reading it again someday to pick up more details that I likely missed during a first reading.
While it was a little slow at times, the payoff was perfection. The prose was also gorgeous, detailed, and very frequently hilarious. Kang balanced serious themes with quite frequent irreverent interludes that kept the story from being too heavy. Overall, I had a great time with this book, and I'm looking forward to reading it again someday to pick up more details that I likely missed during a first reading.
May 2, 2024
I found this book to be an incredible mix of humor and grief, of history and theory and the power of storytelling. I love the nameless characters who feel fully realized. I love the layers upon layers of stories that make me think of CLOUD CUCKOO LAND and CLOUD ATLAS (and possibly other "cloud" books, haha). Seriously, though, I think this is literary speculative fiction that just sucked me in, and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do!
May 21, 2024
I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC. An interwoven set of tales that describe grief, forgiveness, and what it means to be human (or a god). I had no preconceived notions going into this book, and I was impressed by the layers of characters, storytelling, and emotion. The book was ripe with humor, as well as despair. The mythology and history, while completely invented, felt rich and complete. I think this book will appeal to a variety of readers, even those not big on fantasy.
May 7, 2024
I throughly enjoyed this book, I won this book on a GoodReads giveaway. The style of writing that Minsoo Kang wrote The Melancholy of Untold History took me back to the homelands and I was engulfed in the history. Thank you for allowing me to read your book!
May 20, 2024
( Thank you, Good Reads Giveaway, for giving me the chance to read this book.) I enjoyed the mythology history aspect of this book. The present day story line was a weak point for me in this book. I would have enjoyed it more with just the history story that was going on.
May 23, 2024
I just finished an advance reader book. This is not my normal genre but it was a very enjoyable read. The author is a historian and great storyteller who weaved multiple stories together in a very interesting way. He is also a professor at UMSL where I live, so small world.
June 2, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. I found myself really interested in how all the pieces were woven together and I enjoyed the histories that were presented. This is definitely a must read for history fans or for people who like books that prompt deep consideration for the material.
July 1, 2024
I enjoyed the different eras this story was told in. The author wove together beautiful stories pulling the strings together to show how history, myths and real life over lap. The Melancholy of Untold History is an excellent first novel for Minsoo Kang.
March 6, 2024
Good
April 22, 2024
I dnf this book, it was really well written but just didnt keep me hooked! i love the 4 moutain gods myth though!
June 1, 2024
*captivating debut novel
*well-written, easy to read
*strong character development
*highly recommend
*well-written, easy to read
*strong character development
*highly recommend
June 7, 2024
This was a DNF. Too weird to even comment.
June 28, 2024
What a beautiful interweaving of myth, history and life in a place throughout the millenia.
My copy was a gift from Goodreads First Reads.
My copy was a gift from Goodreads First Reads.
June 25, 2024
The amount of tangents made it hard to follow;
However the part that stuck with me the most was the order in which we write our stories: myths, history, and then the daily lives of humans. But in some ways these are all the same and maybe that’s the true melancholy
However the part that stuck with me the most was the order in which we write our stories: myths, history, and then the daily lives of humans. But in some ways these are all the same and maybe that’s the true melancholy
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews