The Color of Heaven (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Color of Heaven Karen Coats Hwa, Kim Dong The Color of Heaven; written and illus. by Kim Dong Hwa; tr. from the Korean by Lauren Na. First Second/Roaring Brook, 2009320p Paper ed. ISBN 978-1-59643-460-8$16.99 R Gr. 8-12 Having foundered a bit in terms of narrative flow in the second installment of this manhwa trilogy (The Color of Water, BCCB 10/09), Hwa regains his footing as he completes the coming-of-age tale of Ehwa, a young woman of early twentieth century Korea, in this graphic novel based on his mother's youth. After a tearful farewell to her young man, Duksam, who promises to return to her after he has made some money, Ehwa is lashed by her mother for staying out all night. Her punishment concludes, however, with a new sense of trust as her mother acknowledges that Ehwa is no longer a child. The two women commiserate over the trials of waiting for one's beloved, and Ehwa shares a funny moment with a randy female friend as they discuss the Korean ideals of beauty for women. When Duksam returns, he and Ehwa turn their attention to marriage, and Ehwa's mother meditates on the joy she has for her daughter commingled with the fears she has for her own lonely future. Fortunately, Mother's own suitor returns with intention to stay, so both women will enjoy futures with the men they love. Hwa is at his pictorial storytelling best in the chapter on Ehwa's bridal night, where he mingles increasingly ecstatic metaphoric imagery (starting with butterflies, clouds, flower petals, and paper lanterns and ending with pounding gongs, a mortar and pestle, and a waterfall) with discreet but illustrative linework of the beautiful young couple making love. The result is both sweet and sexy, but the erotic tension is broken by humorous scenes of village girls listening at the door, and of one of the lascivious old men from the tavern, inspired by the wedding, trying (and ultimately failing) at sex with his puzzled, sharp-tongued wife. The wit both cuts and sharpens the sweet by contrast, but it is the ultimate scene of the mother wistfully peering out into the night that sounds the haunting, sustained note of longing and nostalgia that flows through this profoundly moving picture of a girl's path to womanhood. An extensive discussion guide for the entire series, some of it repeated from the first and second books, follows the text. [End Page 157] Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois