Paul Yoon Books in Order

Eight connected stories portray an island’s changing life across more than half a century. War, occupation, lost loved ones, and alienation shape the relationships of residents and visitors searching for connection in a place marked by history.

After the Korean War, Yohan leaves his homeland for Brazil and works for a Japanese tailor. Encounters with a groundskeeper and two wandering children offer connection, but building a new home requires confronting the trauma he carries.

Six stories follow displaced people across continents after the Second World War, from a French nurse to a Korean migrant in Shanghai. Each confronts a violent or traumatic past while searching for a place and a future.

Three orphaned teenagers shelter in a field hospital in war-torn 1960s Laos and work as motorcycle couriers among unexploded bombs. Their bonds with a dedicated doctor and one another shape lives that diverge across countries and decades.

These stories follow people seeking family and belonging across countries and centuries, from a samurai escorting an orphan to a former prisoner starting again. Migration and inherited trauma complicate their efforts to reconnect with those they have lost.

Etna, a former military dog, leaves his soldiers after years of war to seek the home from which he was taken. Crossing a ruined country, he encounters humans and animals struggling to rebuild lives after conflict.