Amazing. Powerful. Highly recommended. Probably now my favorite out of the trio with Shan Sa's "La Joueuse de Go" and Kawabata's "The Master of Go".

I was a little torn on how many stars to give this one. In some ways, it's not the best novel -- the writing a little stilted, the plot a bit mechanical. Maybe the manuscript would have benefited from another pass by a good copyeditor, and the book design left me cold (no paragraph indentation? OK, I guess... I got used to it).

But, I really liked it, despite all that. The author clearly cared a lot for this story and how to present it. His dry style gives a unique, literal, and sometimes gritty view of the mid-20th-century Korean go world, as well as glimpses of school, street, and gambling culture. And of course (especially for you go players), the game itself is woven intricately and effectively into the narrative. Finally, the psychology of dedicated go players is presented with some interesting and unpredictable complexity.

A fascinating look into the world of Korean Go.

Seeing as the author decided to translate the book from his native Korean into English, it would explain the stilted writing and several typos. A decent editing job could have made this a much easier read. Having said that, the quirkiness of the translation added an interesting feel to the book.

Recommended for people interested in the game of Go and/or Korean culture.

An outstanding book about First Kyu.

This is a great piece of work. All the characters seemed to come to life...

I learned a lot about Go and Korean culture. Three quotes:
1. "A three-stone handicap was a teaching game, not a friendship math between the top players of two countries!"
2. "It was not unusual for the two to hold hands while taking a walk, when Wook was not in uniform. Walking with a girl, holding hands or not, was against the rules of K High school, and punishable by indefinite suspension."
3. "Bangneki is a go game played for money, where the amount of money won is determined by margin of victory."

A very interesting story on the path to becoming a pro in the very cruel game of Go. It kept me very curious on what would happen to him. Also this novel has great lessons for anyome interested in Go. A must read for any Go player.

I love to play go, and I really enjoy books and novels that refer to to it. But this novel is not particularly good, and it didn't add much to my understanding of go culture in Korea. Still, if you're really into the game, it's not terrible.

Great book and a very quick read.

I almost gave this four or four and a half stars. The prose is functional but not exceptional, and the text has many typos and errors.

But then, I had a thought: if the feelings I felt reading were exquisite, who cares?

I know these people. I know the weirdos and madmen who case unprofitable obsessions. I love them. Watching the protagonist walk the knife's edge of being a perfectionist or a hobbyist took my breath away.

I've been there. I've made life choices my circle of friends and family all disagreed with. At that point you feel you have to make it work or simply die. I love you, my weirdos, and Dr. Sung-Hwa Hong does too.

For someone interested in Go, this book is a very nice read! I have enjoyed reading it a lot! However, the ending was so much out of place! Maybe just leave out the last chapter of it!

This is a book about a Go player written by a winner of the Canadian Go Championship, so I badly wanted to like it, but the storyline and quality of the writing was much more reminiscent of Chetan Bhagat than Kawabata.

In a slightly bland literary style (I have read the Czech translation, but can't imagine the English version would be too different), this book tells the story of a young Korean teenager striving to become a Go professional. The book feels more like a novel for teenagers, but is a decent and quick read for any one with an interest in Go, with the parallels it draws between Go and real-life being probably the book's most redeeming quality.