The Asian Reporter's
BOOK REVIEWS

By Yangsook Choi

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005

Hardcover, 32 pages, $16.00

By Josephine Bridges

It’s August, 1976 in Puchon, South Korea. It’s been raining for days, and Yangsook can’t go out to play. She has a homework assignment to write about the best thing in her town, and at least that’s easy. "Peaches," the girl writes. Puchon is famous for its peaches, "big and sweet, with rosy skins and pale, juicy insides," which are shipped all over Korea, but Puchon’s marvelous peaches are so expensive that Yangsook can never get enough of them.

As Yangsook works on her homework, giant hailstones begin to fall and the water rises so high that out in the yard her family’s shoes are "floating around like little boats." Tethered to a house post by a long rope tied around her waist, the girl wades into the deluge to investigate objects falling from the roof and is astonished to find something utterly unbelievable pouring out of the sky.

Based on a true story, Peach Heaven isn’t just about delicious fruit and wild weather. It’s also about understanding that what’s great for some people may be terrible for others, and about what the fortunate ones can do for those who haven’t fared so well.

In addition to writing this autobiographical tale for children ages four to eight, Yangsook Choi illustrated it, and my what luscious pictures! There are hundreds of succulent peaches between the covers of Peach Heaven, as well as peach leaves, peach trees, peach pits, and even some luminous peach blossoms at the very end of this lovely book.

In an author’s note at the end of Peach Heaven, Yangsook Choi writes, "In Korean mythology and culture, the peach is regarded as a magic fruit that brings a long and happy life. It symbolizes peace and is thought to be a strong defense against evil." Pictures of peach gardens, representing a harmonious world, hang all over Korea.

You might want to have a few real peaches on hand when you read Peach Heaven, because you’re sure to wind up craving them. Better yet, savor this book in the shade of a peach tree in August.