Author: Young-ha Kim
Publisher: Munhakdongne
272 pages | 210*145mm
| Important! Please read before you order! |
| >>>This book is written in Korean. |
About This Book
Novelist Kim Young-ha returns after six years with his new book "No One
Knows What Happened."
Novelist Kim Young-ha who is widely known in other countries for
translations of his works in various languages has returned with a new
book for the first time in six years.
Crossing the boundaries of various genres of narratives to capture
modern life in his stylish writing, Kim describes the pieces of our
lives mixed with ambiguity, instability and confusion in "No One Knows
What Happened."
The book consists of 13 short stories revolving around bizarre
characters from diverse backgrounds under dark, bleak and heavy themes
but in an intriguing style.
Most of the stories here are tinged with a sense of loss that happens to
anyone living in today¡¯s society.
"Travel" is the representative story in this book, epitomizing the
author¡¯s recent interests. Han-seon broke up with his girlfriend when he
went to the United States to study. But he finds out that his
ex-girlfriend will marry another man through Facebook and Google. He
offers to take one last trip together before her marriage. But when she
is reluctant, he kidnaps her, taking her to the east coast where he gets
attacked by someone. In the story, the male protagonist ends up with
irrational madness and an obsession with his ex-girlfriend and is
trapped in the past via the social networks that continuously connect
the present to the past.
The trend-savvy author who actually uses Twitter to communicate with his
readers and share ideas with others, catches a new mode of modern
sensitivity in his work.
The stories "Robot" and "Alligator" include sci-fi elements that mix up
reality with fantasy. In "Robot," a heroine has a meaningless affair
with her boss. One day, a man appears and asks her to go out with him.
On the first date, he confesses he is actually a robot. The female
protagonist who suffers hardships in her family finds some comfort with
the robot.
In "Alligator," a boy gets a gifted voice after he experiences a change
in his voice during adolescence. With the voice of "heaven," he becomes
a famous singer. But he always worries he might lose his beautiful voice
because he thought he didn¡¯t do anything to earn such a gift. One day,
he goes to a live bar with a male singer performing and is captivated by
his voice. But all of a sudden, an alligator appears among the crowd.
After that, he loses his voice and can never sing again. In the
meantime, an alligator is found dead with its mouth open in an apartment
complex where he used to live. The dead alligator is sent to the zoo and
since then, a beautiful song resonates every night.
"Quiz Show" is about a girl who is the only survivor in a heinous crime
that resulted in the death of her mother and other family members. She
is a victim of the crime but also inherited an enormous amount of family
fortune. She suffers mental trauma when she goes out while living alone
in a big house and at the same time, she gradually grows arrogant and
thinks of her wealth as power. The rumors about her multiple
personalities turn out true.
The situations portrayed in his stories seem to be hopeless and bleak
and the characters experience difficulty in communicating with each
other amid a growing flow of information. Seized by solitude, fear and
anxiety, modern people are just drifting and wandering around in an the
awkward atmosphere. The writer creates unusual situations but talks
about our lives through unique incidents.
Born in 1968, Kim debuted with his first novel "I Have the Right to
Destroy Myself," which won him the much-coveted Munhakdongne prize in
1995. Since then, he has built up his reputation and released more five
novels and numerous short stories.
His works contain a modern context and globalized culture in his unique
literary style.
Kim is also renowned for the historical novel "Black Flower" that
revolves around the story of the first generation of the Korean Diaspora
working in a Mexican plantation and later involved in a Pancho Villa-led
military revolt. Also, he has shown stylish writing in "The Empire of
Light," which deals with human identity in capitalistic society through
a North Korean spy and his family after defecting to Seoul.
His novels and stories have been translated into more than 10 languages.
Kim is now recognized as the representative writer in Korea in the
post-industrialization era.
A French translation of his first novel, which was published by Philippe
Picquier in February 1998, earned him international recognition.
"The Empire of Light" was released in France in 2009 and received rave
reviews from major newspapers as Le Monde and Liberation. It will also
be published in the United States next month.
His works have been adapted into film and musical versions. Kim worked
for the Drama School at Korean National University of Arts and hosted a
book-themed radio program.
Korea Times
By Chung Ah-young
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