<p><b>''Han Kang is one of the most powerfully gifted writers in the world¿ Katie Kitamura, author of </b><i><b>Intimacies</b></i><br><br><b>Like a long winter''s dream, this new novel by Han Kang takes us on a journey from contemporary South Korea into its painful history</b><br><br>One morning in December, Kyungha receives a message from her friend Inseon saying she has been hospitalized in Seoul and asking that Kyungha join her urgently. The two women have last seen each other over a year before, on Jeju Island, where Inseon lives and where, two days before this reunion, she has injured herself chopping wood. Airlifted to Seoul for an operation, Inseon has had to leave behind her pet bird, which will quickly die unless it receives food. Bedridden, she begs Kyungha to take the first plane to Jeju to save the animal.<br><br>Unfortunately, a snowstorm hits the island when Kyungha arrives. She must reach Inseon¿s house at all costs, but the icy wind and snow squalls slow her down as nig