Origin of Sycamore Tree
I shed more tears reading this book* than I ever have at a funeral. It is a tragically beautiful novel about a father’s unconditional love for his sick child. To this day, his heartbreaking monologue toward the end of the novel still haunts me.
The father’s dedication portrayed in the novel gestated in my mind for years and revived when I met someone whose father reminded me of him.
*가시고기 means Amur stickleback fish
Amur sticklebacks breed during the spring and summer months through an elaborate process where the male builds a nest, courts a female, and takes full responsibility for raising the young.