8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster

 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee, 304 pages.

An old woman at the end of her life tells her life story to an obituary writer in a South Korean nursing home; a story so astonishing that the writer has a hard time knowing what about it is true. The woman, who has had many names, was born in a small town in North Korea near the demilitarized zone, in a time before that zone existed. She lived through an extremely tumultuous century of Korean history and experienced much of it directly, living as a war refuge, a slave to the Japanese military, a North Korean spy, and many more identities besides. 

This book, in addition to being extremely informative, is very well written from a literary standpoint. We follow our protagonist through many tragedies, but the book doesn't seem to delight or wallow in them. We also follow her through many joys and triumphs, and that balance makes it much easier to keep reading this excellent story. I was very impressed overall, and would definitely read another book by the author if she published one. I would recommend this in particular for people with an interest in Korean history, fans of historical fiction in general, and people who appreciate a powerful and resilient female protagonist.