THE COLOR OF EARTH by Kim Dong Hwa

“The color of earth” is the first piece of Manga literature that I have purchased thanks to my eldest son. His interest in Manga began when he started reading <<Naruto>> when he was nine years old. For this reason, I had to spend a lot of time in the Manga section of every bookstore we entered. While I was there, I started browsing through the large variety of books, and so I discovered the ones written by Kim Dong Hwa.

I must confess that in the beginning, I did not understand my son’s passion for Manga. I thought it was superficial. However, once I started reading “The color of earth”, I was hooked. This book helped me understand my son’s fascination for the beautiful Manga drawings. Furthermore, I understood what it meant to be able to follow a story not only through written words but also through the illustrations.

“The color of earth” is about a single mother raising her daughter in the Korean countryside. The main themes of the story are about growing up and finding love for both mother and daughter.

“Women and flowers bloom only when they are longing for something or someone.”

At first, I was under the impression that only the adolescents were crazy for Manga books. However, while we visited the International Manga Museum in Kyoto, Japan, I was surprised to see that many adult Manga readers were there. The majority of them were Europeans and Americans. The visitors of the museum had the opportunity to borrow the books that were showcased, which were translated into English, and to read them while laying on the grass in the museum’s courtyard. No wonder that we spent five hours there.

What I have learned that no matter the age, we all need stories.

P.S. There are two more books in Color trilogy: “The Color of Water” and “The Color of Heaven”. I highly recommend buying them in printed form because this way, you can genuinely appreciate the drawings.

Published by First Second, 2009