Press
SMITHSONIAN APA: Crystal Hana Kim’s If You Leave Me
HERE MAGAZINE: May 2019 Travel Reads
NBC NEWS: An Asian Pacific American Heritage Month reading list
SHELF AWARENESS: Historical Fiction Picks
PEN AMERICA: Diaspora and Migration: A Reading List
YONHAP NEWS: 한국전쟁 소설 美서 출간…”글쓰기는 내 정체성 이해하는 수단”
MOUNTAIN XPRESS: Crystal Hana Kim discusses her novel at UNCA
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY: Columbia Forum: In Love and War
BOOKLIST: Booklist Editor’s Choice Adult 2018
THE PARIS REVIEW: The Paris Review Staff’s Favorite Books of 2018
LITERARY HUB: The Ultimate Best Books of 2018 list
BUSTLE: 31 Debut Novels from 2018 That You Seriously Shouldn’t Miss
NYLON: Best Books of 2018
ENTROPY MAGAZINE: Best Fiction Books of 2018
MENTAL FLOSS: 56 Best Books of 2018
LITERARY HUB: Lit Hub’s Favorite Books of 2018
REAL SIMPLE: The Best Books of 2018
COSMOPOLITAN: The Best Books of 2018
REFINERY29: Behold, A Book for Everyone On Your Holiday List
BUSTLE: After Watching ‘My Brilliant Friend’ on HBO, Read These 15 Books
SELF MAGAZINE: 21 best books of 2018 to buy the bookworm in your life
NY POST: 33 books that should be on everyone’s holiday list
SEATTLE TIMES: 50 best fiction books of 2018
WASHINGTON POST: 50 notable works of fiction 2018
THRILLIST: Best Books of 2018 So Far
READING WOMEN: Reading Women Award, Fiction Shortlist
BOOKLIST ALA: Top 10 First Novels of 2018
BOOKRIOT: Riot Roundup: The Best Books We Read in October 2018
BOOKBUB: Review Spotlight: Top Recommendations from Readers This Month
BUSTLE: 9 New Books with Floral Covers To Help Preserve The Summer Vibes for a Little While Longer
KOREA DAILY: Crystal Hana Kim: A grandmother’s 6-25 war story turns into a novel
TRIAD CITY BEAT: Crystal Hana Kim, Twice a Refugee
LITERARY HUB: The 15 Best Covers of August 2018
SIGNATURE READS: Top 10 Debut Novels to Read Before Summer 2018 is Over
BOOKLIST: Five More to Go spotlight on Crystal Hana Kim’s If You Leave Me
PASTE MAGAZINE: The 10 Best Books of August 2018
SHE WRITES: Crystal Hana Kim on Writing About a Sensitive Topic, Her Influences and a Five-Point-of-View Story
SHE READS: What’s on Vanessa Hua’s #TBR pile
BOOKRIOT: New Audiobooks for August
ASIAN AMERICAN WRITERS’ WORKSHOP: August Bookmarks
NEW YORK TIMES: New and Noteworthy Books
NEW YORK POST: This Week’s Must-Read Books
NBC 4 NEW YORK: Bill’s Books for August 12
SOUTHERN LIVING: The 6 Books All Your Friends are Reading This Month
USA TODAY: Weekend Picks for Book Lovers
THE SUCCESS, PAKISTAN: 10 Books to Read in August
BOOKBUB: 11 Incredible Debut Novels Coming August 2018
BARNES AND NOBLE: August’s Best New Fiction
THE NATIONAL BOOK REVIEW: 5 Hot Books
BUSTLE: If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim and 16 New Books You Need to Know This Week
BOOK RIOT: Rockin’ August Book Covers
MARIE CLAIRE: 11 of the Best New Books for August
REFINERY29: Get Excited About These Amazing August Reads
“Mark our words: If You Leave Me is the book everyone (and their mothers in book club) will be talking about this summer.” – Refinery29
BUST: 11 New Books Coming Out by Women in August 2018
NYLON: 13 Great New Books to Read This August
BOOKPAGE: Six New Authors You Need to Know
BBC CULTURE: 10 Books to Read in August
THE MILLIONS: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)
BUSTLE: New Fiction Books Coming Out in August 2018
ELECTRIC LITERATURE: A Reading List on Coming of Age During Wartime
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: 20 New Books to Read in August
THE MILLIONS: Most Anticipated: The Great Second-Half 2018 Book Preview
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: Writers to Watch Fall 2018: Anticipated Debuts
LIBRARY JOURNAL: The Compendium of Best Summer Fall Debuts
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: Fall 2018 Literary Fiction Announcements
WRITER’S BONE: 16 Books That Should Be On Your Radar
“Lee Haemi, Kim’s protagonist, is one of the most frustrating and beautiful and well-drawn women I’ve read in ages. This is a story of Korea rebuilding after the war, but also a story about the pull of tradition and the limits of bravery and how to build a life around another person, be it spouse, sibling, or child. A truly beautiful, thoughtful book that will sit with me for some time.” – Writer’s Bone
BOOK RIOT: 10 August Releases to Put on Hold at the Library Right Now
BOOK RIOT: 22 Upcoming Released by Authors of Color Featured at BEA
HINDUSTAN TIMES: Author Diksha Basu shares her reading list of 2018
THE RUMPUS: What to Read When You’ve Made it Halfway Through 2018
POPSUGAR: 30 of the Newest, Hottest Books to Pick Up This Summer
LITERARY HUB: The Ultimate Summer Books Preview
NEW YORK POST: The 20 Best Reads for Your Summer Break
CHICAGO MAGAZINE: 10 New Books for Your Summer Reading List
NYLON: 46 Great Books to Read This Summer
“This compelling, gorgeous debut novel takes place in wartime Korea, and does something that far too few war stories do: It shares the perspective of a young woman, precisely the kind of person whose experience is too often silenced, whose story is never told. . . This epic story offers a clear look at the ways in which women’s autonomy is so often compromised, as they struggle to survive in a world that finds them disposable. Crystal Hana Kim’s novel, with its striking portrayal of the complexities of being a woman and of being marginalized, is one of the most beautiful and moving love stories you’ll read this year, set as it is against the backdrop of finding a way through a callous world, of finding a way to preserve love in a time of war.” – Nylon
BUSTLE: 32 New Fiction Books Coming Out This Summer
CHICAGO TRIBUNE: 25 Hot Books for Summer
NEWSDAY: Best Summer Books 2018
PAPERBACK PARIS: 18 New Books We Think You’ll Wanna Backpack This Summer
MODERN MRS DARCY: 20 books everyone will be talking about this summer
PARADE: The Top 25 Hottest Books of Summer 2018
SHE READS: 2018 Diverse Books of Summer
LIBRARY JOURNAL: Debuts with Credentials, Fiction Previews, Aug 2018
LONDON KOREAN: New and upcoming literature and fiction titles for 2018
CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS: All the 2018 Books by Chicago Writers
ELECTRIC LITERATURE: 46 Books By Women of Color to Read in 2018
HOTHOUSE: 18 Diverse Books to Look for in 2018
Interviews
APOGEE JOURNAL: Uncovering the Secret Life of Women in War Time
CHICAGO TRIBUNE Go away with… Crystal Hana Kim
LA TIMES: Go away with… Crystal Hana Kim
NY DAILY NEWS: Go away with… Crystal Hana Kim
ELECTRIC LITERATURE: Crystal Hana Kim Thinks Worrying About Publication Kills Creativity
THE COMMON MAGAZINE: Books Can Help Us Feel Seen: an interview with Crystal Hana Kim
THE CAVALIER DAILY: In conversation with Crystal Hana Kim
THE RATIONAL CREATURE: Bookworm Beat: Crystal Hana Kim on “If You Leave Me”
LUMINA: In Conversation with Crystal Hana Kim
ELECTRIC LITERATURE: Crystal Hana Kim Doesn’t Want to Write the ‘Perfect Korean’
NYLON: On The Importance of Writing a Novel Through the Eyes of a Woman
ELLE.COM: Crystal Hana Kim Champions Complex Women in ‘If You Leave Me’
HAZLITT: ‘I Understand Best Through Writing’: An Interview with Crystal Hana Kim
COLUMBIA JOURNAL: The Word Process: An Interview with Crystal Hana Kim
THE RUMPUS: Different Voices: A Conversation with Crystal Hana Kim
THE MILLIONS: Lucy Tan and Crystal Hana Kim discuss societal roles, war, secrets, and the complications of love
FICTION WRITERS REVIEW: Double Witnessing: Ingrid Rojas Contreras and Crystal Hana Kim
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: Life During Wartime: PW Talks with Crystal Hana Kim
CATAPULT: A Conversation with PEN America Best Debut Short Story Author Crystal Hana Kim
Podcasts, Radio, and Live Video Interviews
BARNARD CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN: History, Memory, Craft: Zinzi Clemmons and Crystal Hana Kim
THE STACKS: The Stacks Book Club – If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim
THE STACKS: Short Stacks with Crystal Hana Kim
WRITER’S BONE: If You Leave Me author Crystal Hana Kim
RTÉ RADIO: Writing in the Age of Trump
THE GROTTOPOD: Crystal Hana Kim on Making Your First Novel Epic
TOM BARNARD SHOW: Interview with Crystal Hana Kim
MIDDAY ON WNYC RADIO: An Intimate Portrait of Forbidden Love
READING WOMEN PODCAST: Interview with Crystal Hana Kim
REFINERY29: Word to the Wise live video interview with Crystal Hana Kim
Reviews
“Kim’s debut novel tells a story of star-crossed love during the Korean War. A young refugee chooses security over her heart, setting in motion a plot that spans the war years and beyond, following the implications of her difficult decision.” — New York Times
“Crystal Hana Kim’s stunning debut . . . is interested in something most others aren’t: The aftermath. It focuses both on what comes after war — as a new country struggles to develop its identity — and what follows Haemi’s fateful decision, as the ramifications of her choice ripple out to affect everyone around her.” — The Washington Post
“Ms. Kim possesses a pleasingly clear and fluid style of writing, and in the opening chapters she deftly intertwines personal and political conflicts.” — Wall Street Journal
“Although If You Leave Me is set in war-torn Korea, the novel mainly concerns itself with love — romantic love, love of country, love of family, and, ultimately, the inability to love on command.” — Washington Independent Review of Books
“Crystal Hana Kim’s debut is a bold mashup of wartime novel and love-triangle romance. . . Between 1951 and 1967, Kim charts personal and national turmoil with equal interest, offering exquisite scenes of marital discord as adeptly as the inner workings of a refugee village or field hospital.” — Star Tribune
“Debut novelist Kim combines vivid depictions of Korean culture with an immersive, heartbreaking story about war, passion and the road not taken.” — People Magazine
“If You Leave Me is a story about how insidious war can be, how it can continue to fracture a family a generation after the fighting. It’s a stunning feat of lyricism, an enthralling, tragic novel brimming with angst and remorse.” — USA Today, 4/4 stars
“This is a grand, sweeping story that proves that an epic can yield strong, individualized characters while still developing a nuanced perspective that refuses to essentialize war, women, or national identity.” — The Millions
“In one of my favorite books of summer, Kim reveals the murk of war and a young woman’s struggle to balance family needs, her desires, traditional constraints and personal agency. Her prose is beautiful, lyrical, at once restrained and thoughtfully paced.” — NewCity Lit
“Complex and fully realized, Kim’s characters are caught in circumstances both exceptional and ordinary. Amidst romance, war and a country not merely “rebuilding… [but] shaping ourselves into a different form,” If You Leave Me is ultimately a story about finding–and making–a life worth living.” — Shelf Awareness, starred review
“Hunger, both physical and emotional, haunts the lives of the extended Lee-Yun family during the tumultuous, violent decades that define modern South Korea in the latter twentieth century. . . Kim renders her multivoiced, multilayered ancestral and cultural history into stupendous testimony and indelible storytelling.” — Booklist, starred review
“A family struggles to balance tradition and change in Kim’s marvelous debut. . . Kim’s lyrical intergenerational saga resonates deeply and will appeal to readers who enjoyed The Orphan Master’s Son.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review
Crystal Hana Kim’s sensual debut novel doesn’t feel like a debut at all. Set in South Korea in the 1950s and ’60s, If You Leave Me is a delicately woven story of love, family, war and isolation. . . Through the lyrical, surprising and chilling prose of If You Leave Me, Kim forces readers to examine the pressure put on women by societies that demand they adhere to one kind of life. . . This is a story worth weeping over, with a fiery and complex heroine that earns the reader’s love.” — BookPage
“Filled with brave personalities of all ages and character-driven story lines that are emotionally gripping, this sensitive and hauntingly written novel will easily leave readers wanting more.” — Library Journal
“If You Leave Me is a gorgeous, complex novel of home, identity, love and sacrifice.” — BookReporter
“Crystal Hana Kim’s If You Leave Me is a visceral reminder of what the war actually cost ordinary people who lived through it. . . a sweeping tale of life, love, and loss that traces the long shadow cast by war over families and individuals.” — Singapore Unbound
“A tragic drama and searing commentary on the 20th century history of Korea… Kim’s prose is beautiful, raw and powerful in expressing the longing sentiments of her characters. ” — Korean Quarterly Review