Author: Myeong-Kwan CHEON
Publisher: Munhakdongne
455 pages | 223*152mm
| Important! Please read before you order! |
| >>>This book is written in Korean. |
About This Book
To summarize the plot in a sentence, this novel is the story of the
various ups and downs in the extraordinary and tumultuous lives of three
women over a period of three generations. It is a story of so many
things - loneliness, love, disappointment, death, despair, success,
misunderstanding, crime, vengeance, hope and resilience. There seems to
be hardly an aspect of human existence omitted.
Acting as a background and linking thread to the novel is the bitter old
woman who runs a rice and soup restaurant. Incredibly ugly, she is
unable to marry, and she spends her life working in other peoples'
kitchens. Eventually she sets up her own restaurant, relentlessly
amassing money and vowing vengeance on the world. She hides all her
money in the roof, but when she dies in an accident the money remains
hidden, together with its curse.
Geum-bok is the character that dominates the first two parts of the
book. Brought up in the countryside, she has an adventurous spirit and
she goes to the seaside where she works for a fish merchant. Her
subsequent marriage, suicide of her husband and her murder of the man
that she mistakenly thinks killed him makes this part of her life a time
of despair and disaster. However, one theme of this story is the 'rags
to riches' success of a country girl becoming a successful business
woman and entrepreneur. Moving to the town of Pyeongdae, Geum-bok finds
the fortune left by the old woman and sets up a brick factory which
rakes in money. She then builds a film theatre, the most striking
building in Pyeongdae. However, the money is cursed. Thwarted in love,
Geum-bok gives herself up to drink and burns down the theatre.
Our third woman is Chun-hui, Geum-bok's daughter. Of massive build and
dumb from birth, she learns all there is to know about brick making from
her stepfather. However, she is wrongly charged with arson and sentenced
to ten years in prison. She too seems cursed. Nonetheless, Chun-hui is
wonderfully resilient. Returning to the ruined brick factory after her
release from prison, she starts making bricks again. Despite further
trials and tribulations, in course of time her skill is recognized and
she becomes known as the 'Queen of Red Bricks.'
"The main virtue of 'The Queen of Red Bricks' is its incredible
readability. There is not a boring moment in this book - a rare find."
-- Kyunghyang Daily News
"The charm of this novel lies in its brilliantly exaggerated
description. The plausible absurdity of the plot and the language sweep
the reader along like a giant snowball, reaching epic proportions." --
Hankook Ilbo
- 10th Munhakdongne Novel Award
- Arts Council Korea 2005 Outstanding Book Award
- Korean Publishers' Association Book of the Month
- 2005 Book of the Year
About the Author
CHEON Myeong-Kwan's writing career took off when he won the 2003
Munhakdongne New Writers Award for his short story 'Frank and Me.' Only
a year later in 2004, he won the 10th Munhakdongne Novel Award for 'The
Queen of Red Bricks'. He has also published a fiction collection
entitled 'Marisa, the Merry Maid'. In addition to fiction, Cheon has
written screenplays such as 'The Gunslinger' and 'The Beijing Cuisine.'
He is currently planning on becoming a movie director.
Availability: Usually ships in 5~10 business days.
 | |||||||||
 |
| ||||||||
Can't
find what you're looking for?
