Synopses & Reviews
Set in Korea, Italy, and New York, "Translations of Beauty is the powerful, raw, and thought-provoking story of Korean-born identical twin sisters--their early tragedy and their desperate efforts to negotiate both their identities and relationship to one another. A terrible accident that permanently scars the face of the spirited, four-year-old Inah abruptly and irrevocably alters the course of their lives. Several years later, the family immigrates to New York and settles in Flushing, Queens. In this melting pot where cultures mix and collide, the twins grow up sharing daily struggles and joys only to gradually come of age separated by their own heartaches and disappointments. But it is when their father has an affair that their fragile family life and American dream begin to fall apart at the seams. Peppering this darkly poignant story are colorful, vividly drawn characters: Uncle Shin, a family man and an avaricious businessman; Cousin Ki-hong, a rebellious Kiss fan; Auntie Minnie, a bawdy, foul-mounthed beautician; and Uncle Wilson, her conflicted African-American husband. Highly original and beautifully written, "Translations of Beauty is a precarious, heartbreaking, and memorable American journey.
Synopsis
Set in Korea, Italy, and New York, this powerful, raw, and thought-provoking story of Korean-born identical twin sisters tells of their early tragedy and their desperate efforts to negotiate both their identities and relationship to one another.