Congratulations to Frances Park and Vine Leaves Press on the release of Blue Rice, a literary masterpiece in which an elderly Korean woman recalls the Korean War, love amid rubble, and acclimation to 1960 America.
★★★★★ “An American adventure filled with humor, history, heartache, and self-discovery.” ~Scott Saalman, author of Vietnam War Love Story
Blue Rice
NEW RELEASE: June 18, 2024Genre: Literary Fiction
Paperback: $17.99
Ebook: From $5.99
By candlelight, an elderly Korean woman relives her years upended by the Korean War, finding love in the rubble, and her acclimation to 1960s America.
Recently widowed Honey, née Hanhee, is preparing to move out of her Arlington home when the Virginia earthquake of 2011 hits. Subtly, something in her cracks. Four days later, Hurricane Irene strikes, evoking monsoon-swept streets of yore.
With the power out, Honey’s life of a half-century ago cinematically comes to light: Her months as an unlikely prostitute at Madam Cho’s; her secret revolt against her dead parents whose love was in question; a mysterious monk’s prediction; her great, sassy Korean friend Kissuni Kim who dreamed of nothing more than ‘love-mak-ing’; her kindly American neighbor Emma Church who would guide her to independence; and, above all, her lingering love for her first husband Joe Lipton, a journalist who brought Honey to America, only to desert her.
Author Frances Park states that writing Blue Rice was like living a dream from scenes her late mother shared with her, as well as her watercolor-like remembrances of growing up in white America as a small child of war-torn Korean parents.
If you enjoyed Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, or A Gesture Life by Chang Rae Lee, you will love Blue Rice.
Praise for Blue Rice
★★★★★ “A rare, sumptuous novel whose heroine will break your heart.” ~R.A. Cramblitt, author of Probably Lives in Tahiti
★★★★★ “Frances Park belongs among the best writers in America today.” ~Wayne Coster Cooper, WritersInTheSpirit
★★★★★ “A sublimely detailed tale of resilience and chosen family.” ~Megan Wessell, book blogger, A Bookish Affair
★★★★★ “A masterpiece.” ~Scott Saalman, author of Vietnam War Love Story
About the Author
Frances Park is the Korean American author of fourteen highly-praised books—novels, memoirs, and co-authored children’s books—published in seven languages. Her latest work includes her reissued novel The Summer My Sister Was Cleopatra Moon (Heliotrope Books), her memoir That Lonely Spell (Heliotrope Books), and her children’s book Grandpa’s Scroll (Albert Whitman Books). Forthcoming work includes her novel Ahn Love (Penguin Random House SEA) and her children’s book Suka’s Farm (Albert Whitman Books). Frances has spoken at the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the Korean Embassy, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, and schools all over the Washington, DC area. She’s also been interviewed on Good Morning America, NPR, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and CNN. Learn more at ParkSisters.com.
About the Publisher
Vine Leaves Press likes to blur the line between commercial and experimental works. They publish book-length vignette collections, writing reference books, short story collections, memoir/autobiography, and character-driven novels with a literary bent. Subscribe to the Vine Leaves Press newsletter to receive FREE advanced review copies of upcoming new releases, news about their authors and subscribers, and/or to read the monthly opinion column, SPILL IT! or a daily dose of 50-word stories. Learn more at VineLeavesPress.com.