In the titular novella, a former serial killer suffering from memory loss sets his sights on one final target: his daughter’s boyfriend, who he suspects is also a serial killer. In other stories we witness an affair between two childhood friends; a family’s disintegration after a baby son is kidnapped and recovered years later; and a wild, erotic ride about pursuing creativity at the expense of everything else.
... a brilliant collection of short stories that run the gamut from intense thrillers to introspective reflections on pain ... [a] visceral gut punch of a collection that mostly takes place within the troubled minds of its protagonists. Young-ha Kim is exceedingly good at distorting reality and telling stories about how meaningless reality truly is. This is everyday surrealism with a sharp edge. In this collection, serial killers are sympathetic and traumatized children are spoiled brats who heartlessly traumatize two generations, one older and one younger. As bleak as this collection is, a bright ray of light shines through. That ray is called 'talent' and Young-ha Kim is an author who deserves to be very famous.
... filled with the kind of sublime, galvanizing stories that strike like a lightning bolt, searing your nerves ... It's easy enough to see why Kim has won every Korean literature award and is acclaimed as the best writer of his generation; pick up this book and find out for yourself.
Kim delicately weaves philosophical debates on the nature of happiness and morality into his characters’ inner narrations. Both jarring and atmospheric, this is a cerebrally satisfying collection.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
