Earth creatures surrender
 |
Description
Book Introduction
- A word from MD
-
Until the day we unite for universal peace!The first autobiographical science fiction novel by Jeong Bo-ra, a finalist for the National Book Award.
Set in Pohang, the story follows his family, a group of alien marine creatures resembling humans and acquaintances, a giant octopus, and a Russian-speaking crab, as they experience various episodes intertwined with war, climate change, and other issues.
A novel that is even more interesting when combined with information-based imagination and comedy.
February 6, 2024. Novel/Poetry PD Kim Yu-ri
A writer who resists fiercely and loves
Information Ra's first autobiographical science fiction novel
Holding your hand, facing the broken world
A sincere love that turns the dreams we dream together into reality.
"Is there another novel so naturally eerie?" (Hwang In-chan, poet)
“Sometimes reality can be more absurd, more magical, and more cruel than fiction.” (In an interview with Jeong Bo-ra)
After winning the Booker Prize in the International Category in 2022 and becoming the first Korean author to be nominated for the National Book Award in 2023, Jeong Bo-ra, who has garnered worldwide attention, presents a series of science fiction novels containing autobiographical stories about marine life.
It contains the scenery of Pohang, a seaside city where the author lives, as well as lighthearted and humorous stories about people who resemble his family, neighbors, and friends.
The six stories included are a record of the fierce struggle and fight against illness to live a human life, and a collection of scenes of holding hands and sharing deep love “in good times and bad, in health and in sickness.”
'I' and 'my husband (the chairman)', who keep encountering talking marine (alien) creatures, are taken away by a group of unidentified black-suited men, but even while getting caught up in strange incidents, they do not stop speaking out about wrongdoings and confronting the irrationality of the times because they "get angry."
The comical antics of the characters that surpass expectations and the writing style that is full of anger, like a rapid-fire rap, will make you laugh without realizing it, but the topics the author targets are by no means light.
It covers a variety of current issues, including layoffs that threaten workers' right to survive, facilities that ignore the mobility rights of the disabled, 21st-century imperialism that covets the interests of small nations, the brutal destruction of the marine ecosystem, and the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It also shows the courageous steps of people who have taken to change the world little by little in response to these issues.
Information Ra's first autobiographical science fiction novel
Holding your hand, facing the broken world
A sincere love that turns the dreams we dream together into reality.
"Is there another novel so naturally eerie?" (Hwang In-chan, poet)
“Sometimes reality can be more absurd, more magical, and more cruel than fiction.” (In an interview with Jeong Bo-ra)
After winning the Booker Prize in the International Category in 2022 and becoming the first Korean author to be nominated for the National Book Award in 2023, Jeong Bo-ra, who has garnered worldwide attention, presents a series of science fiction novels containing autobiographical stories about marine life.
It contains the scenery of Pohang, a seaside city where the author lives, as well as lighthearted and humorous stories about people who resemble his family, neighbors, and friends.
The six stories included are a record of the fierce struggle and fight against illness to live a human life, and a collection of scenes of holding hands and sharing deep love “in good times and bad, in health and in sickness.”
'I' and 'my husband (the chairman)', who keep encountering talking marine (alien) creatures, are taken away by a group of unidentified black-suited men, but even while getting caught up in strange incidents, they do not stop speaking out about wrongdoings and confronting the irrationality of the times because they "get angry."
The comical antics of the characters that surpass expectations and the writing style that is full of anger, like a rapid-fire rap, will make you laugh without realizing it, but the topics the author targets are by no means light.
It covers a variety of current issues, including layoffs that threaten workers' right to survive, facilities that ignore the mobility rights of the disabled, 21st-century imperialism that covets the interests of small nations, the brutal destruction of the marine ecosystem, and the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It also shows the courageous steps of people who have taken to change the world little by little in response to these issues.
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
octopus
Crab
shark
pufferfish
jellyfish
whale
Author's Note
Crab
shark
pufferfish
jellyfish
whale
Author's Note
Detailed image
Into the book
At 8 o'clock in the morning, the university union that was struggling alongside us would come and play various songs, including Kim Kwang-seok's "Get Up." As the energetic chorus of "Get up, get up, let's try again" resonated, I saw the chairman snoring loudly in the tent filled with the smell of alcohol and sleeping. I couldn't help but seriously question whether this was what struggle was really about.
---From "Octopus"
“We have to fight to make it impossible.”
“But how? Crabs only have claws. How can they block all of that?”
“You don’t fight because you think you’ll win.”
The husband mumbled as he rolled over.
(…)
“I can’t not fight.”
My husband turned around and looked at me.
“Because I’m angry.”
---From "Crab"
My mother kept rubbing the hospital bed while she was sleeping.
My mother laughed and said that the hospital blanket was so smooth that she kept tearing it off in her sleep, thinking it was seaweed.
I lost consciousness and had a fever, so I was rushed to the emergency room. When I heard that I needed emergency surgery and that there might not be a hospital room available, my vision went blank. After going through many twists and turns, I finally got the surgery and a hospital room, and spent a nervous day at the hospital with my mother.
---From "Shark"
Seonwoo is eleven years old.
Seonwoo is a boy.
Seonwoo likes dolls.
As a result of these conditions, Seonwoo's life was not easy.
And Seonwoo met Gaebogchi.
---From "Pufferfish"
I had a disturbing dream.
Death poured down from the sky like flowers, like silk, like a curtain of stars.
Death, sparkling in all its colors, swelled like a soft, false hope, then, with a fluttering of its thin, shining legs and a fluttering of its wings, it embraced the world.
It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life.
I didn't run away, I just watched.
---From "Jellyfish"
As I was being taken away in the ambulance and waited in the emergency room, all I could think about was the waves that passed through my body the moment the sky and the sea turned upside down.
Through the waves that pulsed the world and vibrated the universe, the shining beings racing through the water shouted to each other.
- Resist.
---From "Octopus"
“We have to fight to make it impossible.”
“But how? Crabs only have claws. How can they block all of that?”
“You don’t fight because you think you’ll win.”
The husband mumbled as he rolled over.
(…)
“I can’t not fight.”
My husband turned around and looked at me.
“Because I’m angry.”
---From "Crab"
My mother kept rubbing the hospital bed while she was sleeping.
My mother laughed and said that the hospital blanket was so smooth that she kept tearing it off in her sleep, thinking it was seaweed.
I lost consciousness and had a fever, so I was rushed to the emergency room. When I heard that I needed emergency surgery and that there might not be a hospital room available, my vision went blank. After going through many twists and turns, I finally got the surgery and a hospital room, and spent a nervous day at the hospital with my mother.
---From "Shark"
Seonwoo is eleven years old.
Seonwoo is a boy.
Seonwoo likes dolls.
As a result of these conditions, Seonwoo's life was not easy.
And Seonwoo met Gaebogchi.
---From "Pufferfish"
I had a disturbing dream.
Death poured down from the sky like flowers, like silk, like a curtain of stars.
Death, sparkling in all its colors, swelled like a soft, false hope, then, with a fluttering of its thin, shining legs and a fluttering of its wings, it embraced the world.
It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life.
I didn't run away, I just watched.
---From "Jellyfish"
As I was being taken away in the ambulance and waited in the emergency room, all I could think about was the waves that passed through my body the moment the sky and the sea turned upside down.
Through the waves that pulsed the world and vibrated the universe, the shining beings racing through the water shouted to each other.
- Resist.
---From "Whale"
Publisher's Review
“If you surrender, you die.
“We must all live together.”
The true fiction of novelist Jeong Bo-ra, who moves and practices directly.
I received a message from an author who was a finalist for the National Book Award.
The proposal was to ask if I would participate in this year's finalists' plan to issue a statement opposing the genocide in Gaza at the awards ceremony.
I agreed right away.
(…) On the day of the awards ceremony, author Justin Torres won the National Book Award for Fiction.
Author Torres cut short his acceptance speech and called us all up on stage.
Author Bilal came forward and read the statement. (Jung Bo-ra's column, "Stop the Palestinian Genocide," Women's Newspaper, November 22, 2023)
In the fall of 2023, author Jeong Bo-ra's "Cursed Rabbit" was nominated as a finalist in the National Book Award for Translated Literature and headed to New York.
At an event at the Manhattan Public Library, he told of seeing a ten-year-old boy selling candy on the street, saying, “Things like this make me angry, and when I’m angry, I write.”
At the awards ceremony, he participated in the reading of a statement opposing the genocide in Gaza, and also participated in a demonstration condemning the genocide in Palestine in the central square of Krakow, Poland.
True to the novel's character as a "truer story than the truth," Jeong Bo-ra's first autobiographical series, "Earth Creatures Surrender," is a collection of six novels featuring marine (alien) creatures, but it also mirrors the contradictions of our world.
The author's actions, which do not remain mere slogans in his head but instead take to the streets and brave the scorching sun and cold to raise his voice, are vividly captured.
The rough sentences filled with explosive anger resemble many of her previous works, including “Cursed Rabbit,” but as the author states in the “Author’s Note” that “most of this novel is based on true stories,” the author’s honest concerns as she navigates the 2020s and traces of the time she met and fell in love with her husband are revealed here and there.
Meanwhile, it captivates readers with its unique charm as the unpredictable narrative unfolds and comical scenes are created through encounters with alien beings.
Like a wave that rises again even after crashing against a rock
I was a teacher and researcher, and that was my calling.
A student is anyone who learns and studies on their own without a teacher.
But a teacher is nothing without students.
I loved my students, I loved the podium, and I truly believed in the value of education.
That was the meaning of my existence.
Therefore, I couldn't just quietly disappear without putting up a fight as the school wanted.
(〈Octopus〉, pp.
18~19)
In the past, teaching students completely determined my life.
That was the reason I signed the petition for railroad privatization and the Sewol ferry disaster, and it was because I wanted to be proud when I faced the students, (...) I wanted to be a responsible person in front of the students.
(From an interview with JoongAng Ilbo, The Hankyoreh, July 16, 2022)
The book begins with "Octopus," set against the backdrop of the revision of the Instructor Act and the mass layoffs of non-regular instructors at universities following the pandemic.
An octopus appears in the main university building in the middle of the night and solemnly shouts, “All life on Earth must surrender.” However, the chairman, who was guarding the protest tent alone, catches the octopus in his sleep and puts it in ramen to eat, which is what happens.
In fact, the first five or six pages of this novel were written in 2021 at a university sit-in, revealing the author's deep longing for the podium and students.
The series continues with “Crab” and “Shark,” which express concern for migrant workers and the marine ecosystem while also expressing affection for new family members.
As we understand the strong bond between her and her husband, who must fight even when it seems like they won't win and when there is no place to run, we can also read the author's desperation at not being able to lose him while he is battling cancer.
The following novel, "Pufferfish," deals with the underwater exploration of Seonwoo, who loves dolls and games, and offers warm advice that being different from others does not mean that it is wrong, and that each person should find their own way in life.
Finally, Jeong Bo-ra's series of marine life works concludes with "Jellyfish" and "Whale," which contain the journey of people in black suits to discover the truth after coming into contact with space jellyfish.
Although we are repeatedly arrested and detained, entangled with six different marine species, 'I' and 'my husband (the chairman)' continue to resist despite the hardships that come with solid rock-like difficulties, in solidarity with various living beings beyond the human species.
This is also the story of all the people who believe in the possibility of change, join hands on the streets, and change the world little by little.
For a world where no one is driven out, for peace where no one reigns.
Since seizing Ukraine's Krym Peninsula in 2014, Russia has been drilling holes in the nearby Black Sea bed, claiming to address the peninsula's chronic water shortage.
As far as I know, about 26 holes have been drilled so far, but I have not heard any news that the water shortage problem on the Krim Peninsula has been solved, and the Ukrainian side has offered to supply drinking water to the Krim Peninsula, but Russia has of course refused.
(〈Crab〉, p.
64)
Salt prices have been rising out of control for several months now.
You can't buy enough salt to last a lifetime.
And ocean water circulates around the Earth.
If the sea water is polluted, we will all die.
(〈Whale〉, p.
223)
This story is structured around local events, from Seoul, where he fought for better treatment as a part-time lecturer, to Pohang, where he documented his life and solidarity, while also revealing his stance on international issues, from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge.
This trend likely stems from the self-evident fact that no one can escape when the world collapses, and that if the Earth is destroyed, all living things will lose their homes.
The octopus in the work persistently cries out, “Earth creatures, surrender!”, “The world seems to be getting worse,” and “There is no way to fight it alone.”
The author is also worried, saying, “It’s disappointing,” but after closing this book, “If you surrender, you die.
“We must all live together” (pp.
263~266) The message becomes clear.
After closing the book, I hope that all living creatures on Earth, who are diligently fighting for peace today, will be happy so that they can live freely and healthily without being driven out or starving.
“We must all live together.”
The true fiction of novelist Jeong Bo-ra, who moves and practices directly.
I received a message from an author who was a finalist for the National Book Award.
The proposal was to ask if I would participate in this year's finalists' plan to issue a statement opposing the genocide in Gaza at the awards ceremony.
I agreed right away.
(…) On the day of the awards ceremony, author Justin Torres won the National Book Award for Fiction.
Author Torres cut short his acceptance speech and called us all up on stage.
Author Bilal came forward and read the statement. (Jung Bo-ra's column, "Stop the Palestinian Genocide," Women's Newspaper, November 22, 2023)
In the fall of 2023, author Jeong Bo-ra's "Cursed Rabbit" was nominated as a finalist in the National Book Award for Translated Literature and headed to New York.
At an event at the Manhattan Public Library, he told of seeing a ten-year-old boy selling candy on the street, saying, “Things like this make me angry, and when I’m angry, I write.”
At the awards ceremony, he participated in the reading of a statement opposing the genocide in Gaza, and also participated in a demonstration condemning the genocide in Palestine in the central square of Krakow, Poland.
True to the novel's character as a "truer story than the truth," Jeong Bo-ra's first autobiographical series, "Earth Creatures Surrender," is a collection of six novels featuring marine (alien) creatures, but it also mirrors the contradictions of our world.
The author's actions, which do not remain mere slogans in his head but instead take to the streets and brave the scorching sun and cold to raise his voice, are vividly captured.
The rough sentences filled with explosive anger resemble many of her previous works, including “Cursed Rabbit,” but as the author states in the “Author’s Note” that “most of this novel is based on true stories,” the author’s honest concerns as she navigates the 2020s and traces of the time she met and fell in love with her husband are revealed here and there.
Meanwhile, it captivates readers with its unique charm as the unpredictable narrative unfolds and comical scenes are created through encounters with alien beings.
Like a wave that rises again even after crashing against a rock
I was a teacher and researcher, and that was my calling.
A student is anyone who learns and studies on their own without a teacher.
But a teacher is nothing without students.
I loved my students, I loved the podium, and I truly believed in the value of education.
That was the meaning of my existence.
Therefore, I couldn't just quietly disappear without putting up a fight as the school wanted.
(〈Octopus〉, pp.
18~19)
In the past, teaching students completely determined my life.
That was the reason I signed the petition for railroad privatization and the Sewol ferry disaster, and it was because I wanted to be proud when I faced the students, (...) I wanted to be a responsible person in front of the students.
(From an interview with JoongAng Ilbo, The Hankyoreh, July 16, 2022)
The book begins with "Octopus," set against the backdrop of the revision of the Instructor Act and the mass layoffs of non-regular instructors at universities following the pandemic.
An octopus appears in the main university building in the middle of the night and solemnly shouts, “All life on Earth must surrender.” However, the chairman, who was guarding the protest tent alone, catches the octopus in his sleep and puts it in ramen to eat, which is what happens.
In fact, the first five or six pages of this novel were written in 2021 at a university sit-in, revealing the author's deep longing for the podium and students.
The series continues with “Crab” and “Shark,” which express concern for migrant workers and the marine ecosystem while also expressing affection for new family members.
As we understand the strong bond between her and her husband, who must fight even when it seems like they won't win and when there is no place to run, we can also read the author's desperation at not being able to lose him while he is battling cancer.
The following novel, "Pufferfish," deals with the underwater exploration of Seonwoo, who loves dolls and games, and offers warm advice that being different from others does not mean that it is wrong, and that each person should find their own way in life.
Finally, Jeong Bo-ra's series of marine life works concludes with "Jellyfish" and "Whale," which contain the journey of people in black suits to discover the truth after coming into contact with space jellyfish.
Although we are repeatedly arrested and detained, entangled with six different marine species, 'I' and 'my husband (the chairman)' continue to resist despite the hardships that come with solid rock-like difficulties, in solidarity with various living beings beyond the human species.
This is also the story of all the people who believe in the possibility of change, join hands on the streets, and change the world little by little.
For a world where no one is driven out, for peace where no one reigns.
Since seizing Ukraine's Krym Peninsula in 2014, Russia has been drilling holes in the nearby Black Sea bed, claiming to address the peninsula's chronic water shortage.
As far as I know, about 26 holes have been drilled so far, but I have not heard any news that the water shortage problem on the Krim Peninsula has been solved, and the Ukrainian side has offered to supply drinking water to the Krim Peninsula, but Russia has of course refused.
(〈Crab〉, p.
64)
Salt prices have been rising out of control for several months now.
You can't buy enough salt to last a lifetime.
And ocean water circulates around the Earth.
If the sea water is polluted, we will all die.
(〈Whale〉, p.
223)
This story is structured around local events, from Seoul, where he fought for better treatment as a part-time lecturer, to Pohang, where he documented his life and solidarity, while also revealing his stance on international issues, from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge.
This trend likely stems from the self-evident fact that no one can escape when the world collapses, and that if the Earth is destroyed, all living things will lose their homes.
The octopus in the work persistently cries out, “Earth creatures, surrender!”, “The world seems to be getting worse,” and “There is no way to fight it alone.”
The author is also worried, saying, “It’s disappointing,” but after closing this book, “If you surrender, you die.
“We must all live together” (pp.
263~266) The message becomes clear.
After closing the book, I hope that all living creatures on Earth, who are diligently fighting for peace today, will be happy so that they can live freely and healthily without being driven out or starving.
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: January 29, 2024
- Page count, weight, size: 268 pages | 134*200*20mm
- ISBN13: 9791168341630
- ISBN10: 1168341639
You may also like
카테고리
korean
korean
![ELLE 엘르 스페셜 에디션 A형 : 12월 [2025]](http://librairie.coreenne.fr/cdn/shop/files/b8e27a3de6c9538896439686c6b0e8fb.jpg?v=1766436872&width=3840)
