Review by cristinaro -- The Vanished by Pejay Bradley

[Cristina Chifane]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Vanished" by Pejay Bradley.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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It is 1912. Two years have passed since the shameful signing of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty or Korea’s occupation by Japan. Lady Sougyon, daughter of the Korean Prince Aansoon, ponders on the birth of her baby boy. The offspring of an arranged marriage, Embon enjoys all the privileges of living in an aristocratic family. However, he misses his father, who only comes home when he needs money to pay his creditors. As the country bends more and more under the Japanese yoke, Embon faces a moral dilemma. Will he accept the benefits of a comfortable life under foreign rule, or will he join the underground resistance movement and be ready to risk his life and the safety of his family?

The Vanished by Pejay Bradley is a great historical novel with coming-of-age elements and hints of political satire. The author is the kind of storyteller who skillfully plays with narrative perspectives and temporal lines. Although it is often subjective and unreliable, Lady Sougyon’s first-person narration sheds light on the aristocratic circles and the traditional Korean system. Apart from using her voice, Pejay Bradley also employs a third-person narration focusing on characters from different social classes. By the end of the novel, all narrative threads smoothly converge to reflect Embon’s search for identity and maturity process.

What impressed me most was the accurate radiography of the political, social, and cultural challenges in a Korean world caught between an archaic view of life and an impending modernization and transformation. The novel abounds in references to historically significant moments such as the signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1910, King Gojong’s controversial death in 1919, the March 1st Movement violently crushed by the Japanese forces, the establishment of The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai, and the failures and successes of the underground resistance movement. Moreover, the author does an impeccable job of describing the changing settings in the story, ranging from the rice paddies of the rural countryside to the opulence of the Duksoo Palace, the dilapidated nature of the building hosting the Provisional Government, or the miserable conditions in General Yoon Baydon’s camp in Manchuria.

With a keen eye for detail, Pejay Bradley brilliantly tackles a wide variety of topics: the implications of the class system and arranged marriages, the master-servant relationship, the devastating impact of gender discrimination, the loyalty/treason debate, and the fight for independence. In the Korean class system, it is a rare thing for servants to be paid wages. Their masters show no interest in their real names and rename them according to their whim (April, May, Stone, Steel, etc.). Denied an identity, they often turn into Japanese collaborators to get back at their former masters. Women’s lives get even worse because they have no rights and solely depend on their male relatives. Despite her high social status, Lady Sougyon is helpless when it comes to managing her life. On her father’s death, her brother Dahl inherits everything and becomes her guardian. After years of living in an unhappy marriage, she cannot get a divorce as this would equal disgrace. I sincerely applaud the author’s efforts to raise awareness of social inequality and gender discrimination in patriarchal societies.

From another angle, I particularly enjoyed those pages of in-depth psychological analysis relying on the hidden reasons behind the characters’ actions. From this perspective, an indulgent mother and an indifferent father radically influence Embon’s transformation. In his mother’s loving eyes, he is a child prodigy, “a dutiful son and a model student.” (p. 98) His friends see him in a more realistic light: “a typical aristocrat: dainty, fragile, and selfish.” (p. 154) The author cleverly describes Embon’s doubts and hesitations and the discrepancy between his laissez-faire lifestyle and the awakening of his conscience and patriotism. Embon’s meeting with his father in Shanghai and his discussion with Mr. Koo at the end of the book represent memorable scenes in the novel.

In addition to Embon and his mother, many other characters stick into the readers’ minds. Irony and satire help the author add extra touches to each portrait. People contrastively perceive King Gojong as either a victim of the circumstances or a symbol of Korean perseverance. He has a collection of expensive cars and no roads to drive them on. Although he prides himself on being a yangban (“a gentleman”), Mr. Seoh has no qualms when accepting to work for a Japanese bank. Koo Daesik, a long-time member of the resistance movement, openly admits to keeping a low profile during the protest marches. Insoon, Mr. Seoh’s daughter, would have been the perfect example of women emancipation if she had not refused to continue her studies and had not been interested in trivial matters.

All in all, the novel is well written and professionally edited. I only found three minor errors in 244 pages. I liked it so much that I quickly finished reading it in two sessions. There was nothing I did not enjoy about it. As a consequence, I am rating it 4 out of 4 stars. You do not have to worry about potentially offensive words or scenes. I wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of historical fiction with a penchant for Asian history and international relations. With the author tackling many universal themes, Pejay Bradley's book could become a classic novel of the genre.

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The Vanished
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[AngieOdeh]

This is just such an insightful review, it draws a map of the book and it's highlights in great detail. Thank you so much, looks like this is a book that I would enjoy reading.