This is the first young adult novel by Kim Eun-young, who has met readers through her children’s books, and adds a warm and touching story to the lives of blind people in history. Fifteen-year-old Jang-man, who lost his sight at an early age due to an illness; his younger brother, Duk-soo, who takes care of him while also taking care of the household; and their father, who fills the void left by their mother’s death. The three of them leave their hardscrabble hometown and settle in Hanyang, a ci...
This coming-of-age story for young readers follows 장만, a blind boy living during the Joseon era. The first one-third of the book roughly focuses on the difficulties of living with a disability during that time period and the discrimination he faces, while the remaining two-thirds focus on the trials and tribulations he goes through to become a sutra chanter. Along the way, he faces countless setbacks but matures and finds his own form of happiness.
The book did get sad at tim