Review of SEVEN YEARS OF DARKNESS by You-Jeong Jeong

3.5 Stars

I came across this writer’s name in an article in The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jun/19/the-best-recent-and-thrillers-review-roundup).  I had not heard of her, but she is apparently South Korea’s leading writer of psychological crime and thriller fiction.

The novel is set in 2011, but much of it deals with events seven years earlier.  Hyonsu Choi, the new head of security at Seryong Dam, is convicted of several murders (including those of an 11-year-old girl and his wife).  He also opened the dam’s floodgates and destroyed an entire village.  His 11-year-old son Sowon survives.  Sowon tries to carry on with his life but as the son of an infamous “crazed murderer,” he and his guardian, Sunghwan Ahn, find little peace.  When Sowon is 18, Mr. Ahn disappears but a manuscript written by him is delivered to Sowon.  That manuscript seems to be a fictionalized account of events surrounding the murders, but as he reads it, Sowon discovers it may contain the truth and that his assumptions about his father’s actions may not have been correct. 

The embedded narrative certainly clarifies what actually happened in 2004.  It also introduces all the people involved and gives backstories for most of them.  The problem is that there is little focus on Sowon’s struggles to understand his father’s actions.  What Sowon learns forces him to drastically change the image of his father that he has carried for seven years, but the reader does not see him having any real difficulty changing his views. 

What I appreciated is that the author manages to arouse sympathy for virtually all the characters. Because information is given about their backgrounds, the reader comes to understand why they behave as they do.  Their dominant traits are often a reaction to something that happened in childhood.  Many of the characters are trapped by family expectations and circumstances.  Hyonsu, for example, feels that “everything in his life was so small and constricting.”

Only one character, the real evildoer, is not given a backstory.  He also has no redeeming qualities.  He is controlling, calculating, and cold-hearted and doesn’t even seem to be capable of positive emotions like love.  As a consequence, he is a stereotypical villain.  When he is first introduced, the reader knows immediately that he is somehow involved in what occurred.

I was fascinated by the village that was submerged when the dam was built.  Mr. Ahn goes diving and we are given a description of what he sees.  I live near the lost villages of the St. Lawrence River, villages that were inundated to accommodate the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway.  (In some locations, a few remnants of sidewalks and building foundations can still be seen under the water, and some high points of land in the flooded area remain above water as islands.)  I wondered whether finding the name of Yongje Oh on the nameplate of a submerged home was significant.

There are some pacing issues.  The middle is slow and then the ending seems rushed.  Actually, the ending seems written for a film adaptation.

Though not flawless, the book is an interesting read.  I’m interested in writers from around the world and this South Korean one deserves attention.