A Step From Heaven

Although this book is told in a first person present narration, the reader can tell right away that the true voice that is telling the story comes from an older, wiser narrator that is recounting events from childhood. An Na’s novel is loosely based on her own experiences, and this is probably why there is so much emotion conveyed through even the most simple occurrences. My only qualm with this book is that it took me a long time to warm up to; it wasn’t until about halfway through that I felt that I was a part of Young Ju’s world. One possible reason that this is the case may be due to the extremely subjective and esoteric language that perhaps only an immigrant child could understand. Perhaps this effect is purposeful because in the first half of the book Young Ju is very young, and tries to make sense of America in a way that only she, as a child, can understand.

As a young girl, Young Ju is overwhelmed by America and American ways. An Na does a good job of presenting the transition from the Korean lifestyle to the American way in that all conflicts in the story stem from how her family as a whole copes with their new life. There is a great chapter that describes Young Ju’s first days of school. Since she doesn’t have a firm grasp of English right away, An Na presents what the teacher is saying using phonetics since Young Ju hasn’t been exposed to much English yet. The following example is the teacher introducing Young Ju to the rest of the class: “Ah ri cas, ca mo ve he… Tees es Yung… Wah ko um, Yung.” (All right guys, come over here… this is Young… Welcome, Young). I think this technique would really make students realize how difficult it would be to have to learn a completely different language, and how scary it must be. At first Young Ju struggles because her family doesn’t speak English at home, only Korean. Over the years Young Ju and her family get better at English, though Young Ju and her brother Joon adapt much easier than their parents.

As Young Ju grows older, she adopts a central role in her family and becomes the leader. The major source of conflict in her life is her grandmother’s death, which affects her father tremendously. This conflict brings up many fruitful topics for discussion: alcoholism, domestic violence, and the equality between men and women. Since Young Ju’s father feels ashamed that he can’t go back to Korea to attend his mother’s funeral, he starts to drink and beat up on his family. He even gets a DWI and brings shame to his family. Young Ju and her mother take abuse after abuse from him, doing nothing to improve their situation.

The reader can see Young Ju mature through this experience because she breaks through her mother’s twisted logic: “We are afraid you are becoming too American; don’t forget, you are Korean.” Young Ju’s response: “Then why did we come to America?” “Remember, Young Ju, women in America have choices.” Young Ju’s response: “So do you, mother.” This last remark makes Uhmma (her mother) realize that she doesn’t have to take the abuse, but before she has time to leave her husband, he beats her severely, leaving Young Ju no option but to finally call 911.

Unlike other books about immigrants trying to become Americans, Young Ju doesn’t experience an identity crisis. It is something different, something I haven’t really seen in a novel before. Since she is told, back in Korea, that America is basically like heaven, she is completely ready to make the transition. The trouble she has with American life is how her family adapts to the changes. Not only is her family a “minority,” they are also very poor, with both of her parents having to work several low-paying jobs. At times it seems that Young Ju is ashamed of her family, refusing to tell her American friends what they actually do for a living, lying that they own a restaurant. This “shame” is turned into a constructive emotion for Young Ju, though, and she becomes the best student in the classroom and eventually wins a full scholarship. The book is truly a story of overcoming obstacles and succeeding no matter what.

On a personal level, I really liked this book because I really didn’t know much about Korean culture. There were several small pieces of information that I found interesting, such as that “Han Gook” (Korean) people came from Mongolia. On a deeper level, I learned how a Korean family perceives the world. I think students would really like this book because it takes something unfamiliar and makes it familiar, forcing students to realize that all Americans, no matter their backgrounds, share common experiences.