“Kim builds a patient spell, carefully orienting American readers who probably know little of this chapter of history. And with Najin having to face the Great Depression, World War II, and life under an occupying force – as well as a disapproving father – readers can hardly complain of boredom. ...Najin herself wins the sympathy of modern readers without feeling like an anachronism plunked down among historical wallpaper – a tricky balance for any writer. I found the novel’s ending abrupt, but realized afterward that that partly stemmed from my reluctance to let ‘The Calligrapher’s Daughter’ go.”