This story can be described as a coming of age story of a young boy in 1970’s South Korea. The author of this book draws on his experiences growing up in Korea during this time. I will admit this book was hard for me to read as it describes many events that took place during the turbulent times in Korea. There are some chapters from the perspective of the main characters uncle who lived through the Korean War. The author does not shy away from revealing the atrocities of war. There were also some graphic depictions of animal cruelty. These subject matters made it hard for me to read the book in a short amount of time. That being said, it takes a lot for a book to impact me as emotionally as this book did. This books outlines how the families lives were impacted by the presence of war in their lifetimes. The main character wants to help his family members who are haunted by the war but he does not know how.

As someone who grew up with grandparents who experienced the horrors of World War Two, I believe that generational trauma is a real thing. By including multiple generations in this book, the reader was able to see how each person was impacted by the war. I really appreciated the author creating a story from his life experiences and bringing awareness to the events that happened during the Korean War as well.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy.

this family saga definitely delivers on rendering time and place, the characters and the relationships they have with each other were less compelling but then again this is a debut.

Holy S*&^ what a book! I loved everything about this book. It was beautifully and hauntingly written.

I interviewed this author for my podcast/broadcast Writer's Voice https://www.writersvoice.net/2023/02/heinz-insu-fenkl-skull-water-stephanie-wear-eat-ugly/.

Heinz Insu Fenkl
Growing up in a military family as the son of a Korean mother and German-American father, Heinz Insu Fenkl got both an insider’s and an outsider’s view of post-war South Korea.

The insider part came from his closeness to his Korean family, especially his Big Uncle, a geomancer and failed scholar. From his uncle and other relatives, he imbibed the stories and legends of old Korea. He also heard tell of the terrible traumas of the Korean war. These stories form one thread of the book that takes place in 1950.

The outsider part came from being a mixed race kid in high school, who found his only friends among a group of other mixed race kids like himself. Their adventures—and misadventures—form the coming-of-age story that forms the other thread of the book, that follows his character Insu in the year 1974.

Heinz Insu Fenkl teaches creative writing and Asian studies at the State University of New York, New Paltz. His previous novel Memories of My Ghost Brother was named a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist.

An unusal coming of age tale set in South Korea and moving between the 1950s and the 1970s. Insu, the son of a Korean mother and a US GI is adrift until he meets Big Uncle and then he's on a quest to find well, skull water which is said to heal all ills. This blends Korean myth and history into Insu's story. It helps, I think, to be at least a bit familiar with recent Korean history as well as with customs. The characters are good as are the atmospherics. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

The son of a Korean mother and German father enlisted in the US Army explores the unsavory parts of 1970s Korea, partly on a quest to cure his ailing father and to scavenge black market good.

Skull water is a lyrical coming of age tale set in Korea during the 70's. Insu, the son of a Korean mother and a US Army father, has returned to Korea where he grew up, after living on German and US bases. As he re-inserts himself into his life on the base in Korea, he reunites with his friends and rediscovers his family when he visits his Big Uncle, who has a gangrenous foot and has been exiled from his village. The book is told in two timelines. The timeline set in the 70s follows Insu and his friends as they navigate the dissonance of living in developing Korea under Park Chung Hee's dictatorship alongside the constant American military presence with its thriving black market. The second timeline is set in the 50s following his Big Uncle trying to survive during the Korean War. Interspersed throughout are mentions of Korean folklore, mythology, and history. Overall, a well-written novel that brings to life a specific period of time in Korea's history. Readers familiar with Korean history and culture will especially be interested in this novel.

I'll start by saying I'm writing this review without having finished the book. I got to 50% before I gave up.

The story was disjointed and hard to follow. I could not connect at all with the characters from the 70s story (their behavior seemed to me children-like but they are in the military? I feel like I was missing something), and the 50s plot was better but (for me) not enough to make it worth finishing the book.

I'm sorry but I just couldn't get into it.

Many thanks for the ARC to the publisher and NetGalley.

This was a very interesting read and I really enjoyed it. It had me from the very beginning and the story went at a grate pace. I would recommend this book to anyone.

I really tried to like this book, but I had to dnf at around 25%, at times the writing was good, but I found the story disjointed and hard to follow. It's the story of a boy in the 1970's born to a Korean mother and a GI father in South Korea. Some readers with more of an understanding of South Korean history may enjoy this. I do appreciate the opportunity to read and will look for another book by this author. Thanks to #Netgally and the publisher for the ARC.

I liked the historical elements in this story of Korea in the 50's and 70's. Skull Water treats the time period with grace and beautiful writing. At times, the story was tough to follow, but overall, the stories were enjoyable.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an opportunity to read this book ahead of its publication, in return for an honest review.

I regret to say I had to stop reading after about 20%. I just couldn't go on with it. I realise that for some readers this might make my review seem irrelevant, but I would still like to share my observations and the reasons for stopping.

The books tells the story of a South Korean teenager in the 70s, feeling lost and disconnected from his nation, history, and family, partly due to being born to a Korean mother and a foreign GI, and partly due to the changes occurring in SK at the time. The story takes a turn when the protagonist meets his uncle, who is steeped in traditional folklore.

While I understand and recognise the ambition in this book and what it was trying to achieve, I found the storytelling very problematic, on multiple dimensions. First, the book plunges the reader into the story with no preamble, introduction, or context. I found myself scratching my head at the various characters that appear without introduction, and the decisions the boy makes with no rationale, and the relationships that are devoid of a baseline. Second, the form of the novel is more like a series of short stories with weak connecting fragments. It makes the meta narrative, at least for me, super tough to understand. Third, the weaving of folklore into the story are unclear, especially as I don't have any context into South Korean legends and myths. While this might work for someone who knows it, it failed to reel me in. Finally, even after reading quite a bit I still struggled to understand what the story was, what the point of me reading it was, and why I should persevere.

So, maybe folks who have context and intuitive understanding might like it. Those like me are likely to prefer Pachinko, The Picture Bride, etc.

First of all this has one of the most beautiful covers I've ever seen but crucially the beauty inside of it manages to surpass the cover.

Skull Water is a wonderful tale of friendship. loyalty, family, history, tradition and myth. It is partly set in 1970s Korea and partly during the Korean War of the early 1950s. The cultural contrast of traditional Korean society and values set against the parallel American presence is evocatively portrayed. It also showcases Korea's ancient traditional heritage before it became the current hyper-connected ultra-modern highly advanced economic powerhouse it is today. There is much wisdom and philosophy to enjoy in Heinz Insu Fenki's writing: "be happy, be content, things are as they are and will be what they will be, an extension of now, flowing as unstoppably as the water of the Han....". Highly recommended. Special thank you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for a no-obligation advance review copy.

Couldn’t get into this at all. I found it hard going and it didn’t capture my imagsyion they I hoped it would. Thanks for the ARC but not for me

An intergenerational saga set in South Korea, this novel by Heinz Insu Fenkl has a lot to offer the reader. South Korea I know mostly through its recent cinema, so read something set in that countries past was informative and revealing. It was like stepping into a past that I in-part recognised and in-part was entirely alien to me. This is the power of great literature, to let you live other lives for a few hours. Great stuff.