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3.0 

The Court Dancer

By Kyung-Sook Shin
The Court Dancer by Kyung-Sook Shin digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

When a novice French diplomat arrives for an audience with the Emperor, he is enraptured by the Joseon Dynasty’s magnificent culture, then at its zenith. But all fades away when he sees Yi Jin perform the traditional Dance of the Spring Oriole. Though well aware that women of the court belong to the palace, the young diplomat confesses his love to the Emperor, and gains permission for Yi Jin to accompany him back to France.A world away in Belle Epoque Paris, Yi Jin lives a free, independent life, away from the gilded cage of the court, and begins translating and publishing Joseon literature into French with another Korean student. But even in this new world, great sorrow awaits her. Betrayal, jealousy, and intrigue abound, culminating with the tragic assassination of the last Joseon empress—and the poisoned pages of a book.Rich with historic detail and filled with luminous characters, Korea’s most beloved novelist brings a lost era to life in a story that will resonate long after the final page.

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5 Reviews

3.0
Loudly Crying Face“I think the book was a little too bland for my taste. The beginning and the middle part of it moved so slow that it almost made me give up on it. I was almost sure that Victor will abandon Jin, but I hoped that she will end up with Yeon. The last few chapters were actually really good. I felt angry for how Yeon was treated and I pitied Jin but in the end the palace was her home and I feel like if she had lived after what had happened she would have felt miserable.”
Reviewed in:Asian Literature

About Kyung-Sook Shin

Kyung-Sook Shin is one of South Korea's most widely read and acclaimed novelists. She is the author of I'll Be Right There and Please Look After Mom, which was a New York Times bestseller and a Man Asian Literary Prize winner.

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