unbearable love
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Description
Book Introduction
Unforgettable characters, exquisite plots, modern and profound themes, precise prose
Everything you'd expect from the best literature
Discover Ian McEwan's hidden masterpiece in a new light!
For Ian McEwan, the short period from 1997 to 2001 was the peak of his writing career.
In 1997, he published 『Unbearable Love』, the following year 『Amsterdam』, and in 2001, he published a series of controversial works, including 『Atonement』, and he suddenly rose to prominence as a representative writer of English literature.
Among them, 『Unbearable Love』 was expected to win the Booker Prize early on as it was selected as the New York Times' 'Book of the Year' amidst enthusiastic responses from numerous writers and critics including Bill Bryson at the time of its publication, and it garnered a lot of attention. However, Ian McEwan's luck was on the line the following year, and the winning work was 『Amsterdam』.
As the global literary world's attention focused on the Booker Prize-winning novel, the author's ambitious work, "Unbearable Love," received relatively less attention.
A psychological drama featuring bizarre and intense characters, "Unbearable Love" is a work that represents the peak of the author's talent, drawing enthusiasm from critics and readers alike with its profound themes and dazzling style.
This hidden masterpiece, which had been out of print for a long time, is being republished by Bokbokseoga with a delicate translation by Han Jeong-ah, the translator of 『Atonement』, one of his most beloved works in Korea.
Hailed as a powerful and captivating introduction, the novel immediately plunges the reader into the characters' fates, much like a Greek tragedy.
Then, through sharp and vivid psychological descriptions, he makes us experience the downfall of an intelligent and confident person as if we were watching it from the sidelines.
Joe Rose, a famous science writer, was enjoying a leisurely picnic with his long-lost lover in a beautiful field when he noticed a helium balloon with a child in it floating precariously into the air. He and four other men gathered from all over the place rushed to grab the balloon and hung on to the rope.
But a gust of wind blows and lifts them all into the air.
If everyone keeps holding on to the rope, maybe the child can be saved.
But what if even one person lets go of the rope? The balloon will rise higher, and tragedy will ensue.
Eventually, tragedy strikes.
Before Joe Rose can even begin to feel guilt and fear, the story takes a sudden, unpredictable turn when a problematic figure appears before him, pushing him into a world of madness disguised as love and forgiveness.
Everything you'd expect from the best literature
Discover Ian McEwan's hidden masterpiece in a new light!
For Ian McEwan, the short period from 1997 to 2001 was the peak of his writing career.
In 1997, he published 『Unbearable Love』, the following year 『Amsterdam』, and in 2001, he published a series of controversial works, including 『Atonement』, and he suddenly rose to prominence as a representative writer of English literature.
Among them, 『Unbearable Love』 was expected to win the Booker Prize early on as it was selected as the New York Times' 'Book of the Year' amidst enthusiastic responses from numerous writers and critics including Bill Bryson at the time of its publication, and it garnered a lot of attention. However, Ian McEwan's luck was on the line the following year, and the winning work was 『Amsterdam』.
As the global literary world's attention focused on the Booker Prize-winning novel, the author's ambitious work, "Unbearable Love," received relatively less attention.
A psychological drama featuring bizarre and intense characters, "Unbearable Love" is a work that represents the peak of the author's talent, drawing enthusiasm from critics and readers alike with its profound themes and dazzling style.
This hidden masterpiece, which had been out of print for a long time, is being republished by Bokbokseoga with a delicate translation by Han Jeong-ah, the translator of 『Atonement』, one of his most beloved works in Korea.
Hailed as a powerful and captivating introduction, the novel immediately plunges the reader into the characters' fates, much like a Greek tragedy.
Then, through sharp and vivid psychological descriptions, he makes us experience the downfall of an intelligent and confident person as if we were watching it from the sidelines.
Joe Rose, a famous science writer, was enjoying a leisurely picnic with his long-lost lover in a beautiful field when he noticed a helium balloon with a child in it floating precariously into the air. He and four other men gathered from all over the place rushed to grab the balloon and hung on to the rope.
But a gust of wind blows and lifts them all into the air.
If everyone keeps holding on to the rope, maybe the child can be saved.
But what if even one person lets go of the rope? The balloon will rise higher, and tragedy will ensue.
Eventually, tragedy strikes.
Before Joe Rose can even begin to feel guilt and fear, the story takes a sudden, unpredictable turn when a problematic figure appears before him, pushing him into a world of madness disguised as love and forgiveness.
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
Into the book
I hesitated.
I didn't like this kind of thinking.
Logan's death meant nothing.
That was one of the reasons we were shocked.
Sometimes good people suffer and die, not because their goodness is being tested, but because there is no one to test their goodness.
No one but us.
--- p.55
“What happened?” he said.
Then I shut my mouth and said.
“What happened?”
He took a deep breath through his nose.
He still couldn't look at me.
“You know what’s going on,” he said curtly.
I tried to help him.
“Are you talking about that accident?”
“You know what’s going on, and you’re asking me to tell you.”
I said.
“Yeah, I’d better tell you quickly.
“I have to go soon.”
“Are you doing this because you want to take the initiative?” He glared at me with the rebellious expression of a teenager, then lowered his head again.
“Things like honeymooning are really stupid.
You say it.
“What is there to be ashamed of?”
I looked at my wristwatch.
It was the best time of day to work, but first I had to go downtown and pick up some books.
An empty taxi was coming towards us.
Paris also saw the taxi.
“I’m acting so cool right now, don’t make me laugh.
You know that it can't go on like this.
Now everything has changed.
So please don't act like this.
please……"
--- p.98
The problem with Joe's precise and careful mind is that it doesn't take care of the emotions that exist in it.
He seems unaware that his claims are nothing more than nonsense, aberrations, and have causes.
Even though he is weak, I don't feel like protecting him right now.
Like her, he has reached a point where he has become numb to Logan's tragedy, but he is unaware of it.
While she wants to relax and soak in hot, soapy water, he wants to start working on changing his destiny.
--- p.127
It was now impossible for humans to obtain the consent of others on any matter.
We lived in a fog of unreliable, half-shared perception, our sensory information distorted by the prism of desire and belief, which distorted even our memories.
We saw what was beneficial to us, remembered it as beneficial, and in doing so, we convinced ourselves.
--- p.270
A stranger came into our lives, and the first thing that happened was that you became a stranger to me.
You found out that he had Declerambaud syndrome (I don't know if that's a real condition) and predicted that he might become violent.
Your prediction was right.
You acted decisively, and you can be proud of that.
But what else? Why did it happen? How did it change you? What other outcomes might it have had? How did it affect us? These questions still remain, and we need to seriously consider them from now on.
--- p.327
“I live for you.
I love you.
Thank you for loving me, accepting me, and appreciating what I do for our love.
Send me a new message soon.
And remember, faith is joy.”
I didn't like this kind of thinking.
Logan's death meant nothing.
That was one of the reasons we were shocked.
Sometimes good people suffer and die, not because their goodness is being tested, but because there is no one to test their goodness.
No one but us.
--- p.55
“What happened?” he said.
Then I shut my mouth and said.
“What happened?”
He took a deep breath through his nose.
He still couldn't look at me.
“You know what’s going on,” he said curtly.
I tried to help him.
“Are you talking about that accident?”
“You know what’s going on, and you’re asking me to tell you.”
I said.
“Yeah, I’d better tell you quickly.
“I have to go soon.”
“Are you doing this because you want to take the initiative?” He glared at me with the rebellious expression of a teenager, then lowered his head again.
“Things like honeymooning are really stupid.
You say it.
“What is there to be ashamed of?”
I looked at my wristwatch.
It was the best time of day to work, but first I had to go downtown and pick up some books.
An empty taxi was coming towards us.
Paris also saw the taxi.
“I’m acting so cool right now, don’t make me laugh.
You know that it can't go on like this.
Now everything has changed.
So please don't act like this.
please……"
--- p.98
The problem with Joe's precise and careful mind is that it doesn't take care of the emotions that exist in it.
He seems unaware that his claims are nothing more than nonsense, aberrations, and have causes.
Even though he is weak, I don't feel like protecting him right now.
Like her, he has reached a point where he has become numb to Logan's tragedy, but he is unaware of it.
While she wants to relax and soak in hot, soapy water, he wants to start working on changing his destiny.
--- p.127
It was now impossible for humans to obtain the consent of others on any matter.
We lived in a fog of unreliable, half-shared perception, our sensory information distorted by the prism of desire and belief, which distorted even our memories.
We saw what was beneficial to us, remembered it as beneficial, and in doing so, we convinced ourselves.
--- p.270
A stranger came into our lives, and the first thing that happened was that you became a stranger to me.
You found out that he had Declerambaud syndrome (I don't know if that's a real condition) and predicted that he might become violent.
Your prediction was right.
You acted decisively, and you can be proud of that.
But what else? Why did it happen? How did it change you? What other outcomes might it have had? How did it affect us? These questions still remain, and we need to seriously consider them from now on.
--- p.327
“I live for you.
I love you.
Thank you for loving me, accepting me, and appreciating what I do for our love.
Send me a new message soon.
And remember, faith is joy.”
--- p.362
Publisher's Review
Tragic accident, eye contact with a stranger
After that, everything changed.
From the moment I was drawn into the world built in someone's mind
Joe was living a perfectly organized life, having a stable love with Clarissa.
Until I got involved with a man named Paris who was also at the scene of the accident.
The precise, careful, and rational spirit of Joe is thrown out of balance when he meets the incomprehensible being, Paris.
We confront everything that Paris says, everything that Paris shows, everything that Paris implies with reason and science, but the fight is not easy.
Paris, the stalker, instead holds Joe responsible for dragging her in.
"When will you let me go? I'm completely under your control, I can't do anything.
But why won't you admit what you're doing? Why do you keep pretending not to know what I'm saying? And those signals, Joe.
“Why do you keep it on?” (p138)
Joe fights with his whole life against Paris's illogical, reasonless passion and fanatical conviction, but his churning unconscious emotions ultimately lead him to ruin.
A psychological thriller with twists and turns, written by a master of English literature.
A literary exploration of love, forgiveness, and what we believe we know.
The reason why "Unbearable Love" is the author's hidden masterpiece is not only because of its surging suspense and flowing psychological descriptions.
This is because of the meaningful themes that organically permeate this work.
Although it was written in 1997, the work's critical thinking seems more appropriate for the 2020s.
The 21st century, which began with fanatics destroying the World Trade Center in New York, has been marked by similar conflicts and clashes around the world.
In a world where we tend to believe what we want to believe, where fake news is rampant, and where narcissistic individuals are increasingly manipulative, Ian McEwan places his characters in the dichotomies of reason and emotion, love and obsession, science and religion, intuition and logic, and invites readers to consider the following themes.
What exactly is love? Why do humans need God and forgiveness? Can love without religion, or scientific rationalism, overcome the attacks of fanaticism? Can humans live fully without the fear of God? Through the conflicts and confrontations between characters representing conflicting values, and above all, through the plot itself, the author asks what truth is and what it truly means to perceive and believe.
Finally, you should not just pass over the appendix attached at the end of the novel.
The author's creation was so convincing that many people believed it at face value, and eventually, even some experts in the field of psychiatry mistook it for a real case.
After reading the appendix thoroughly, readers will probably want to open the first chapter of the novel again.
And after you know the secret of the appendix, you will look at the novel from another perspective.
You will discover that each expression, which you initially dismissed as trivial, is filled with profound irony. As you discover yet another story running through "Unbearable Love," you will experience a rich reading experience.
Recommendation
It's like reading under a spell.
_The Sunday Telegraph
A novel that combines intense fear and unbearable pathos, showcasing Ian McEwan's signature strengths at their peak.
A work in which incomparable narrative technique is exquisitely and elegantly blended.
_Guardian
It explores the characters' secret emotions and lives with the sophistication and intelligence of fiction that only a master can display.
_Observer
A perfectly written novel.
Ian McEwan is the most taciturn and lucid stylist, never wasting or stumbling on a word.
_New York Review of Books
A thrilling narrative and tense suspense.
_The Sunday Times
“There is a strange coolness to Ian McEwan’s novels.
His prose is sharply refined, and his keen interest in science lends the story a clinical air, but this never detracts from the emotional depth that permeates the novel.
A unique and highly intelligent study of a mental illness and a reminder of the shocking dangers that love can pose, "Unbearable Love" is a novel that reveals these qualities more clearly and powerfully than any other.
McEwan's portrayal of Jed Parry's mad passion is a distorted mirror image of the true passion between Joe and Clarissa, and is itself a peculiar perspective that exposes certain properties of love.
The material doesn't seem real, but McEwan has created a remarkable novel from it.
“With original and unforgettable prose that any writer would envy.” _ Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post
After that, everything changed.
From the moment I was drawn into the world built in someone's mind
Joe was living a perfectly organized life, having a stable love with Clarissa.
Until I got involved with a man named Paris who was also at the scene of the accident.
The precise, careful, and rational spirit of Joe is thrown out of balance when he meets the incomprehensible being, Paris.
We confront everything that Paris says, everything that Paris shows, everything that Paris implies with reason and science, but the fight is not easy.
Paris, the stalker, instead holds Joe responsible for dragging her in.
"When will you let me go? I'm completely under your control, I can't do anything.
But why won't you admit what you're doing? Why do you keep pretending not to know what I'm saying? And those signals, Joe.
“Why do you keep it on?” (p138)
Joe fights with his whole life against Paris's illogical, reasonless passion and fanatical conviction, but his churning unconscious emotions ultimately lead him to ruin.
A psychological thriller with twists and turns, written by a master of English literature.
A literary exploration of love, forgiveness, and what we believe we know.
The reason why "Unbearable Love" is the author's hidden masterpiece is not only because of its surging suspense and flowing psychological descriptions.
This is because of the meaningful themes that organically permeate this work.
Although it was written in 1997, the work's critical thinking seems more appropriate for the 2020s.
The 21st century, which began with fanatics destroying the World Trade Center in New York, has been marked by similar conflicts and clashes around the world.
In a world where we tend to believe what we want to believe, where fake news is rampant, and where narcissistic individuals are increasingly manipulative, Ian McEwan places his characters in the dichotomies of reason and emotion, love and obsession, science and religion, intuition and logic, and invites readers to consider the following themes.
What exactly is love? Why do humans need God and forgiveness? Can love without religion, or scientific rationalism, overcome the attacks of fanaticism? Can humans live fully without the fear of God? Through the conflicts and confrontations between characters representing conflicting values, and above all, through the plot itself, the author asks what truth is and what it truly means to perceive and believe.
Finally, you should not just pass over the appendix attached at the end of the novel.
The author's creation was so convincing that many people believed it at face value, and eventually, even some experts in the field of psychiatry mistook it for a real case.
After reading the appendix thoroughly, readers will probably want to open the first chapter of the novel again.
And after you know the secret of the appendix, you will look at the novel from another perspective.
You will discover that each expression, which you initially dismissed as trivial, is filled with profound irony. As you discover yet another story running through "Unbearable Love," you will experience a rich reading experience.
Recommendation
It's like reading under a spell.
_The Sunday Telegraph
A novel that combines intense fear and unbearable pathos, showcasing Ian McEwan's signature strengths at their peak.
A work in which incomparable narrative technique is exquisitely and elegantly blended.
_Guardian
It explores the characters' secret emotions and lives with the sophistication and intelligence of fiction that only a master can display.
_Observer
A perfectly written novel.
Ian McEwan is the most taciturn and lucid stylist, never wasting or stumbling on a word.
_New York Review of Books
A thrilling narrative and tense suspense.
_The Sunday Times
“There is a strange coolness to Ian McEwan’s novels.
His prose is sharply refined, and his keen interest in science lends the story a clinical air, but this never detracts from the emotional depth that permeates the novel.
A unique and highly intelligent study of a mental illness and a reminder of the shocking dangers that love can pose, "Unbearable Love" is a novel that reveals these qualities more clearly and powerfully than any other.
McEwan's portrayal of Jed Parry's mad passion is a distorted mirror image of the true passion between Joe and Clarissa, and is itself a peculiar perspective that exposes certain properties of love.
The material doesn't seem real, but McEwan has created a remarkable novel from it.
“With original and unforgettable prose that any writer would envy.” _ Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: March 16, 2023
- Page count, weight, size: 364 pages | 392g | 128*198*30mm
- ISBN13: 9791191114430
- ISBN10: 1191114430
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카테고리
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