Thank you to Tin House Books for the gifted ARC

After their arranged marriage at the height of the military dictatorship in South Korea, newlyweds Insuk and Sungho move to San Jose, California, with Sungho's overbearing mother-in-law. As the trio grieves the fracturing of their homeland separately, their lives drift further apart. Can they find their way back to one another?

I've said multiple times that I love poets' prose, and Koh beautifully demonstrates how absorbing and compelling her storytelling is in THE LIBERATORS. I absolutely adore the use of mixed media—from the poetry-like ruminations to drawings—THE LIBERATORS is a slim book that packs a punch and will leave the readers grasping for air yet craving more.

I was unsure halfway through the book due to the number of POVs for such a short story. It is true that with so many characters, each person feels a bit diluted, and some characters have more of a slice-of-life presence. Regardless, I'm blown away by how Koh doesn't rely on the overwritten immigrant tropes to spin a spellbinding story of displacement and diaspora, of trauma and grief, of love lost and found.

Toward the end, I sobbed so much reading about one particular character's hopes for a unified country. In his speech, I can feel the unyielding pursuit of overcoming the evil that divides humanity and grasping for the light that unites us. This aspect alone made me love THE LIBERATORS. In addition, Koh's acknowledgment is one of the best I've read, which helped me appreciate the novel so much more—I hope we never lose our humanity and always hold onto love to fight for a better future.

"We can fail but we can always rebuild." THE LIBERATORS is a perfect read for those interested in poetic prose, the Korean diaspora, and imperfect characters.