Greek Lessons

Some thoughts about the book by Han Kang

I read Greek Lessons by Han Kang few months back and it made me feel a lot of things. I could not put my finger on it and I failed to really digest it. To make it assimilate into my system, I got into a discussion about it with my friend and recorded a podcast. The conversation sounded a bit chaotic. But, still it made a lot of sense eventually.

Summary of the book

The book speaks about the loss of senses and the self of two unnamed individuals — a separated woman who has lost her mother and a Greek tutor who is slowly losing his sight because of a congenital disease. The separated woman has suddenly lost her ability to speak. She hopes to regain it by learning Greek.

The author explores some of the other relationships of the Greek tutor and to some extent that of the woman as well. Though one might think it’s a part of the narrative, it becomes clear that the sidebars are there to demonstrate the loss of self along with the loss of sense.

Eventually, the Greek tutor and the lady are left with no other anchor in their lives except for each other. The Greek tutor doesn’t have anyone to support him. And the lady has no one to provide her emotional support.

They are unable to speak to each other and in the final pages they share an intimate moment with each other. There is no definite conclusion to the story as there is no definite plot.

Reflections

As a reader with all senses intact, I could deeply relate to both characters. The reason is that I felt I was either blind or mute, or rather behaved like someone blind or mute during certain moments of my life, which left a mark on me.

How could I not see it? Was it because I was in love? I don’t want to keep going back to this story. It makes me feel that I am deliberately keeping this memory because there are no better memories to replay. In fact, I have had many memories in life, but yet I keep going back to these. One truly becomes blind in love.

And then there are moments when you become mute. You have no words left to say because it is too overwhelming. I had never encountered such a moment. But when I truly did, it came with a huge tsunami of pain.

I remember the session with my therapist where I could not even speak about it, but just cried while attempting to articulate the feeling. Now, I am not sure if I should be oversharing. But share it I must, because this is not a singular event. Many people on earth would have felt it.

And if you felt it too, then I offer you my warm hug. You’re not alone.

Importance of Senses and Human Connection

I have not really appreciated the fact that I do have all my senses are intact. We value important things that are taken for granted only when we lose it. I felt this when I was unable to speak for three days due to a throat infection. This was a an experience that made me feel disenfranchised.

I felt so out disconnected from others that I had to use texts and signs to communicate with others at work. If this feeling were to be imposed on me, it would have debilitated me forever.

Similarly, the loss of an important human connection can cripple the mind and soul. You never know when and how you will lose people who mean a lot to you. That is the reason why we should celebrate every moment as much as possible. And maybe, stay connected via the plethora of tools given to us by technological progress of humanity.

Both these themes are subtly captured in the book. One may or may not see it blatantly while reading. But the thought does cross your mind when you reflect on the book at a later stage.

Power of a Story

Therein lies the power of a story. It can make you feel seen and heard. It articulates feelings that you were unable to put in words and thereby open up a path to healing. Of course, stories don’t have to be sad all the time. Across the ages, stories have inspired people to take action.

Greek Lessons is a story that can make you feel empathetic towards yourself if not others. And only when you walk through this path can you make way for a better story. A story that can be written or conceived for a better day if you were going through a bad one.

As my guest Nikita mentioned, Greek Lessons is an invitation to an experience. Even if you don’t understand it completely be open to it. You never know when this story could come to your aid.

If you are not convinced, do listen to the podcast. Links of all three platforms are strewn across this post. I hope you pick the book and savour it.