Description

A landmark modern classic about the Korean-American immigrant experience and the dawn of Los Angeles’ Koreatown

Clay Walls tells the story of Haesu and Chun, immigrants who fled Japanese-occupied Korea for Los Angeles in the decade prior to World War II, and their American-born children. First published in 1986, it offers a portrait of what being Korean in the USA meant in the first half of the twentieth century, exploring themes of immigration, racism and generational trauma, and depicting the early decades of Los Angeles’s Koreatown. Through three sections representing the perspectives of mother, father and daughter, what resonates the most is the voice of a woman and her self-determination, through national identity, marriage and motherhood.

Publisher Review

Clay Walls is a story about immigration and colonial trauma, and it is also a story about marriage, class, and patriarchy … A beautifully written work of American literature that is both absorbing and deeply felt — Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko and Free Food for Millionaires By interweaving the three themes of the Korean immigrant experience – Korean culture, American racism and Korean nationalism – Kim has created an important novel — Eun Sik Yang * The Los Angeles Times * Political-historical moments are the pearls of the novel … One is grateful for being invited into that closeted but lively world * The New York Times * Kim Ronyoung’s writing is true to her unblinking vision of reality. Her portrayal of Chun reminds me of D. H. Lawrence’s portrayal of the miner-father in Sons and Lovers. The passage of this family from 1920 to 1945 is a long and extremely arduous journey, but it is both necessary and triumphant * San Francisco Chronicle *