Meet the Author
E. J. Koh
Winner of the 2024 NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award
Finalist for the 2024 Washington State Book Award and the 2025 PNBA Book Award
“Spare, beautiful and richly layered, The Liberators is dazzling.”
―Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage
“A piercing, patient debut by one of our finest chroniclers of American han. You won't know what hit you until the final, perfect image.”
―Ed Park, author of Same Bed Different Dreams
Daejeon, South Korea. 1980. At twenty-four, Insuk falls in love with her college classmate, Sungho, and with her father’s blessing, they marry. But then, as the military dictatorship, martial law, and nationwide protests bring the country precariously to the edge, Insuk’s father disappears.
In the wake of his disappearance, Insuk flees to California with Sungho, their son Henry, and Sungho’s overbearing mother. Adrift in a new country, Insuk grieves the loss of her past and divided homeland, only to find herself drawn into an illicit affair that sets into motion dramatic events that will echo for generations to come.
Spanning two continents and four generations, E. J. Koh’s debut novel exquisitely captures two Korean families forever changed by fateful decisions made in love and war. Extraordinarily beautiful and deeply moving, The Liberators is an elegantly wrought family saga of memory, trauma, and empathy, and a stunning testament to the consequences and fortunes of inheritance.
Finalist for the 2024 Washington State Book Award and the 2025 PNBA Book Award
“Spare, beautiful and richly layered, The Liberators is dazzling.”
―Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage
“A piercing, patient debut by one of our finest chroniclers of American han. You won't know what hit you until the final, perfect image.”
―Ed Park, author of Same Bed Different Dreams
Daejeon, South Korea. 1980. At twenty-four, Insuk falls in love with her college classmate, Sungho, and with her father’s blessing, they marry. But then, as the military dictatorship, martial law, and nationwide protests bring the country precariously to the edge, Insuk’s father disappears.
In the wake of his disappearance, Insuk flees to California with Sungho, their son Henry, and Sungho’s overbearing mother. Adrift in a new country, Insuk grieves the loss of her past and divided homeland, only to find herself drawn into an illicit affair that sets into motion dramatic events that will echo for generations to come.
Spanning two continents and four generations, E. J. Koh’s debut novel exquisitely captures two Korean families forever changed by fateful decisions made in love and war. Extraordinarily beautiful and deeply moving, The Liberators is an elegantly wrought family saga of memory, trauma, and empathy, and a stunning testament to the consequences and fortunes of inheritance.
Praise for The Liberators
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“Lyrical. . . . Kaleidoscopic. . . . explores how the past travels with us, and how we may find solace amid loss through relationships with others.”
The Los Angeles Times -
“Beautiful. . . . it captures the very real whiplash of experience and emotion that comes with being human.”
Seattle Times -
“A moving and lyrical debut novel. . . . Koh has fully harnessed her potential in this assured outing.”
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
About the Imprint
Where the literary canon of tomorrow is born. Critically acclaimed titles that challenge, illuminate, and linger. Discover award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from emerging voices you’ll say you found first.
