207



N

Na, An (?– )
An Na was born in Korea and immigrated to the
United States with her parents. Growing up in
San Diego, she attended schools that were pre-
dominantly white and felt that she was only fully
accepted at her Korean church, where all of her
friends were of Korean descent. Feeling alienated
from American culture and yet too embarrassed
to ask questions of her parents or friends, she read
authors such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Judy Blume,
and Beverly Cleary to learn about American tradi-
tions and culture. Despite her love of books, Na
did not originally aspire to be a writer.
Na attended Amherst College and became a
middle school English teacher. Na’s career change
from teacher to writer occurred when she took a
children’s literature course and realized that she
enjoyed the process of writing. Deciding to be a
writer, Na attended Vermont College, part of Nor-
wich University, to earn her M.F.A. in children’s
literature. During her time as a student at Vermont
College, Na began writing down her childhood
memories with the intention of turning them into
a novel. In her M.F.A. program, her advisers and
peers workshopped her novel, and by the time she
finished her M.F.A., her debut novel, A Step From
Heaven, was accepted for publication.
Inspired by Sandra Cisneros’s The House on
Mango Street, Na’s debut novel is an immigrant

story that focuses on Young Ju, a Korean girl whose

parents come to “Mi Gook” (the United States) to

attain financial success. Despite their initial excite-

ment and hopes, Young Ju and her family quickly

realize that America is not heaven and that finan-

cial wealth is not forthcoming. A combination of

menial jobs, shame, failure, and lack of financial

success frustrates Young Ju’s father, who becomes

increasingly abusive toward his children and wife.

After severely beating Young Ju’s mother, her fa-

ther is imprisoned and eventually leaves the family

to return to Korea. It is only in his absence that

the family can heal and attain financial security.

In order to capture the essence of memory, Na

conveys specific moments that focus on particular

senses, creating a novel of vignettes. As the nar-

rator chronicles her experiences as a young child

in Korea and later as a college-bound American,

she details the frustration, yearning, and longing

of an immigrant. As a child, Young Ju is unclear

about her identity and is frustrated by her place in

two cultures; only later does she mature enough to

realize her place in these two cultures.

Na’s novel has been well received. It was a Na-

tional Book Award Finalist in 2001 and won the

American Library Association’s Printz Award

for teenage literature in 2002. Targeted at young

adults, A Step from Heaven offers an understand-

ing of the problems immigrants face and evokes