Tongue [Paperback]

The protagonist of Tongue is Ji-won, a cook who's opened up her own cooking school in the home she shares with her boyfriend, architect Seok-ju. Together they have designed her dream kitchen, where she teaches small groups to make breads and Italian food. When Seok-ju falls for a former model taking cooking lessons, he leaves Won alone with his dog Paulie to close up her kitchen and go back to work at the Italian restaurant where she was trained.

The chapters follow Won month after month through a traumatic, isolating breakup. She thinks constantly of food and Seok-ju, works long days in the restaurant taking on extra duties, and falls with Paulie into an abyss of loneliness in the home they once shared with "him." At first her devastation seems normal, then a bit scary, then a bit sad. And after she finds out that Seok-ju has now built their dream home for Se-yeon, who's opening a new cooking school, we see how unmoored Won really has become.

Food, taste, and sense in general are the centerpiece of the novel, and Jo gives Won a very convincing gourmandism. Ji-won spends plenty of time musing on meals she's served to Seok-ju, meals she could serve to get him back. But the sexual angle on food isn't by any means the only one. There are some highly erotic scenes and fantasies, but Won is interested in sensation more generally. Some of the best food discussions are those of her childhood, of her grandmother using a pear reduction to sweeten everything, or cooking plain, earthy meals. The importance of salt, the taste of loneliness, the close association of love and hunger, "physical symptoms that propel your life."

The novel is set in Seoul, but Won mostly cooks Western food and makes a surprising number of Western cultural references. This is the first Korean novel I've read, but it felt quite homey, and to a large extent the comparisons to Haruki Murakami are apt. There is a certain way reality is tilted for Won that makes everything a bit strange, but she's going through a dark, intimate process that could tilt anyone. I found the food writing very evocative, and the emotional ups and downs as well. Tongue was a bit dark, but I'm hoping to see more of Jo's work translated in the future.

I bought this for a friend who is moving to South Korea. I found it very difficult to find fiction about South Korea that was either contemporary, or about something other than conflict with North Korea. So when I came across this story, it seemed perfect. The chef protagonist is getting over a recent breakup, and the story explores how she rebuilds her life through food. It sounded almost like Eat, Pray, Love except through cooking! And with such a low price, I felt I couldn't go wrong.

While the author (and perhaps the translator?) certainly has a gift with words and description, that was one of only two things I enjoyed about the story. The second is the way that the narrator peppers the audience with little facts about the history of food. For example, while making tiramisu, Ji-won explains that it means "pull me up" in Italian, because of the effects of the expresso in it.

But sometimes these points went a little too far. I felt uncomfortable reading parts of the story... I didn't understand Ji-won's relationship with her mentor, which included a strange sexual/nonsexual? moment of body contact that came out of nowhere and had something to do with the mentor losing his daughter at a young age. I almost felt like that part could have been a story in itself, were it fleshed out and explained a little more.

Ji-won and her Chef mentor aside, there are few other characters. Her ex, the dog they shared, the ex's new girlfriend, Ji-won's uncle, and a friend of Ji-won's are really the only others. While her ex and his new girlfriend were obviously necessary, since this story is about Ji-won's life after the breakup, Ji-won's friend seemed unneeded. The uncle seemed only to be included as another link to family. Her grandmother is often mentioned as being the one who taught her how to cook, though the old woman passed away many years ago. Don't even get me started on the dog. All I'll say is that this is not the book for animal lovers, as the dog is continuously neglected.

To end, I have to say that I'm not sure who this book *is* for. Those who appreciate the delicacy and beauty of language may, since the writing is at times simply a pleasure to read. I want to say that those who enjoy food and cooking will enjoy it, especially since such a wide variety of foods and ingredients are mentioned throughout. But then again, sometimes one can take food a little too far, which Kyung Ran Jo's character does. I almost gave up reading it several times, but managed to stick it out and finish the entire book. Of course, now I feel the need to read something completely different--something with snappy dialogue and humor, with adventure or romance or action. All of which would be the opposite of "Tongue."

Characters weren't developed, I was disappointed. It's like if a dish looks so good but when you finally get to eat it, it's bland!!! what a let down ....

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