Adapted from Park Wan-Suh's acclaimed 1970 novel of the same name, The Naked Tree is the latest of Keum Suk Gendry-Kim's graphic novels personalizing traumatic wartime experiences on the Korean peninsula, following Grass and The Waiting; all translated by Janet Hong and published by D & Q.  It is effective in providing a sense of life during wartime, particularly – but not only – for its young female protagonist.  Interactions with American soldiers – who are simultaneously protective defenders and alien occupiers – also play an important role in the drama, which, ultimately, focuses on the effects of trauma as it moves through the stages of repression, cathexis and catharsis.

D & Q has posted a six-page preview, HERE.

And this work has been reviewed from a medical point of view, with a focus on the nature of trauma and PTSD, at the website Graphic Medicine, HERE.