Review: SAHA

by Cho Nam Joo

This book is one of my blind buys late last year. I did not look for it in the internet and never searched its plot. The book I bought didn’t have the summary written on the outside cover either, but I bought it together with the author’s previous work, Kim Ji Young, born 1982. I learned with Japanese authors, their work of fiction borders on the surreal and open ended. I learned to love it over the years, it makes fiction a little bit real to me. I found it similar with this book too.

In a few words, I could describe the overall theme as a social commentary on the origins of poverty, birthing systemic oppression and reinforcing power as currency and opportunity to land grab from natives, put up a clear boundary, bring in foreign population, wherein the original population will never benefit on the land’s businesses. Seems familiar?

Now, where to start? Because there’s a lot to unpack here and I might not be the correct person to even dissect the themes, but I will try.

WARNING: SPOILERS

The book starts with a death, an accusation, then an unraveling. What is Saha, how it came to be, why it came to be, and who are the people that exists here. The book goes on to explore characters residing in Saha Estates , their origins, and how they came to Saha. Each characters have their own unique journey as they arrived there, some residents came from outside place, and some are foreign people that came with the Town.

I like how the author weaved the lives of the residents of Saha, they have shared history that spans back decades from when the estate was first formed. The children are orphans left by previous residents whose backgrounds are also explored. How their lives came to be, their importance, and the legacy they carry.

I love especially where each of their stories are reflections of the society they were raised in, mirroring the society we are also living now. This time, while reading, I tried to use sticky notes on sections of the books that I would like to go back to. Though, I didn’t really started annotating yet. I can’t seem to write on books yet. Anyway, let me share you one of the passages that caught me: “How did we end up so afraid of people with secrets?”

You know, I first thought this book have dystopian vibes. But really, its oppression, repression, inequality, police brutality, discrimination and exploitation. I’m sure there’s still more, but these are words I am familiar to. I read books to escape my reality yet nowadays its getting clear that we are living in these same reality.

I can recommend this if you loved reading 1984, Brave New world, the Giver trilogy etc. Similar vibes, dark content but unexpectedly a light read. Maybe it comes with age too, so take this with a grain of salt.

Got to love the cover though, you will get it once you started reading it.