School Library Journal's review stated, "Overall, this is a highly recommended title. The book was well-received by critics in South Korea, where the book is set, and in the United States. At one point in the story, Kim Hyun Sook is expelled from her university for her activism and her involvement in the book club, which causes her to lose her scholarship and puts her future prospects in jeopardy.ĭespite the constant threat of censorship and punishment, Kim Hyun Sook and her fellow book club members continue to fight for their right to read and discuss banned literature, and their bravery and persistence ultimately contribute to the larger democracy movement in South Korea. Kim Hyun Sook describes several encounters with censors, including instances where government officials barge into the book club's meetings to confiscate banned books, and where she and her friends are interrogated by police for their involvement in the club. She and her friends constantly face the threat of government censorship and punishment for their activities. And as Hyun Sook soon discovers, in a totalitarian regime, discovering great works of illicit literature are quickly overshadowed by fear and violence.Īs the club delves deeper into the books and their discussions become more political, they attract the attention of the authorities and increasing danger. Instead she ends up hiding in a basement as the youngest member of an underground banned book club. When the editor of the school newspaper invites her to his reading group, she expects to pop into the cafeteria to talk about Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Scarlet Letter. Kim Hyun Sook begins college in 1983 and is majoring in English literature. The story is set during South Korea's Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protesters. The book was fictionalized to protect the people in the story.
The title is a reference to the secret student club at her university where she read underground literature. Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada illustrations by Ko Hyung Juīanned Book Club is a fictionalized biographical graphic novel by Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada that depicts Kim's college experience in South Korea during the Fifth Republic.
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