"Chaesa," by John Patrick Bishop

On the one year anniversary of her father’s death, a twelve year old girl and her family stay in the Communist occupied city of Seoul.  The details are intriguing and the story achieves the tone of a folk tale when the food prepared by her mother seems to expand to fill the needs of a village. The language is responsible for this air of mystery and the sense of urgency to flee.  But in truth the story reads as if it is part of a novel, there are so many connections and questions too large for a short story, in addition to the omniscient voice.  Nevertheless this is an intriguing story, here at Kenyon Review Online.