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by Lee Chang-dong
The first story collection published in English by Lee Chang-dong, one of South Korea's most celebrated and influential literary and cinematic figures.
Much like Lee Chang-dong's internationally renowned films (Burning, Secret Sunshine, and Poetry), these brilliant, unsettling tales, originally published in Korea in the 1980s and now translated into English for the first time, investigate themes of injustice, betrayal, and terror—on both an intimate and national scale. Lee writes deeply and hauntingly about conflicts between family, the powerful and the vulnerable, conformists and rebels.
In the title story, drawn from the author's own memories of serving in the South Korean military, the class divide between a university-educated private and a working-class corporal serving sentry duty together one snowy night leads to tragic consequences. In "There's a Lot of Shit in Nokcheon," the psychological violence that two brothers enact on each other over the course of a lifetime captures the darkness and paranoia that pervaded Korea in the 1980s, as the country struggled toward democratic rule. And in the novella-length "A Lamp in the Sky," a young woman's brutal interrogation at the hands of the police reveals the series of increasingly troubling decisions that led her to this moment. Is she innocent or guilty? In the end, even she cannot say.
Snowy Day and Other Stories introduces English readers to a master storyteller.
"A stirring collection of stories about resistance. Lee Chang-dong effectively and dramatically explores the sacrifices people make to hold onto their ideals. These potent tales leave a mark." —Publishers Weekly
"Short stories exploring South Korea on the verge of transformation. These stories abound with emotional violence that sometimes boils over into the physical, and empathetically explores characters reckoning with a lack of good options. A harrowing but clear-eyed look at South Korea's recent history." —Kirkus Reviews
"Breathtaking ... Readers already familiar with Lee's uncanny ability to create precise yet multilayered film imagery will detect that impressive skill in these pages ... That recognition, that empathy, should turn aficionados of Lee's films into literary admirers, deservedly expanding his international presence." —Shelf Awareness
"Lee Chang-Dong is a masterful auteur—in these remarkable stories as much as in his renowned films. Though this collection pulses ominously with the turbulent ghosts of Korea's recent history, I was left with an unusual sense of hopefulness. How his characters find their way to redemption still has me in awe. Unforgettable." —Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Homeland Elegies and McNeal
This information about Snowy Day and Other Stories was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lee Chang-dong is one of Korea's most highly acclaimed directors, known internationally for his films Burning, Secret Sunshine, and Poetry. He began his career as a writer of short fiction and novels before turning to screenwriting and directing. His work is characterized by its meticulous eye for detail and its exploration of social issues and complex characters.
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