The Evening Hero

“This precise, watchful novel reveals the loneliness of the immigrant experience, even when cloaked in outward success… a novel about healers and healing, about unflashy, quiet heroism…[with] lyrical, lush, deeply felt prose… a soulful, melodic, rhapsodic novel.”—THE NEW YORK TIMES

“The novel also elucidates with remarkable feeling how war reverberates through a person’s lifetime—their body, mind, and memories—no matter how far in the past it may seem. This story is filled with as much heartache and healing as it is historical significance.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS

"An ambitious story charting the travails of an elderly immigrant doctor...Lee offers touching details...fans of immigrant stories will appreciate Lee’s labor of love."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Marie Myung-Ok Lee's The Evening Hero is a poignant story of a Korean immigrant father's heartbreaking belief in the myth of this country, capitalism, meritocracy and his disillusionment. By turns satirical and profound, The Evening Hero is a moving and captivating read.” —CATHY PARK HONG, New York Times bestselling author of Minor Feelings

"The Evening Hero is at once a hilarious, lacerating look at the American for-profit healthcare system and a profoundly moving examination of the long-term effects of war, trauma, and displacement on individuals, families, and cultures. I will never forget Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s evening hero, Dr. Yungman Kwak." —ANN PACKER, New York Times bestselling author of The Children’s Crusade

"The Evening Hero is an incredible achievement, a finely observed portrait of a man and the constant accrual of the past, the weight of family, of identity, of money, of home. Marie Myung-Ok Lee writes with such spirit and clarity, but it all resonates because of her skill with humor and the inevitable darkness brought on by the absurdity of the world. A brilliant book." —KEVIN WILSON, bestselling author of The Family Fang and Nothing to See Here

“Lee has created a poignant portrait of an aging immigrant doctor desperate to make sense of his history and find his place—within his marriage, his family, his community, his country. Filled with sharp insights into immigrant life and biting, satirical commentary on consumerism, this beautifully multi-layered novel will stay with me for a long time.” —ANGIE KIM, bestselling author of Miracle Creek 

"A profound meditation on what happens to those of us who come to this country from elsewhere, what we gain and what we lose. Yungman is an indelible hero. Lee is a magnificent writer." —GARY SHTEYNGART, New York Times bestselling author of Little Failure

“The Evening Hero is a beautiful, lush, moving story of family, of Korean and American history, of the legacy of war, and of the trauma of displacement. With great wit and humanity, it skewers the medical-industrial complex and the deep inequity of contemporary America. But most of all this novel is a tender, complex, vivid portrait of Yungman, the indelible Evening Hero.” —DANA SPIOTTA, author of Wayward, Innocents and Others, and Eat the Document  

"Heartfelt and keenly observed, The Evening Hero casts an urgent and insightful gaze on lived identity, positioned precariously at the intersection of past and future, homeland and adopted home." —ALEXANDRA KLEEMAN, author of Something New Under the Sun

"Astonishing line by line but also in the brilliant symmetry and epic sweep of the storytelling. Yungman's life has been torn in half by war, just as his home country Korea has been torn in half by war. Our Evening Hero's journey will entail trying to heal the invisible wounds of war and to make his life whole. Elegiac, fiercely intelligent, historically astute, full of hard won emotional truths and pathos, this book is a mesmerizing investigation into the mysteries of the human heart." —GABE HUDSON, author of Gork, the Teenage Dragon

“The Evening Hero rewards its readers threefold: it opens the world of Koreans and Korean Americans, it raises larges questions, and is a genuine page turner.” —MARY GORDON, author of Final Payments and Payback
“This is a tender and shrewdly comic look at immigrant life, family, and how our past informs the future.” —REAL SIMPLE

“Lee’s writing shines is in the details, as she flexes her creative muscles to fill Yungman’s story with historical accuracy and a true-to-life depiction of the depth of humanity. Wholesome and engaging overall, The Evening Hero ultimately results in a captivating tale of human struggle and survival.” —BOOKLIST