Don't close your eyes
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Description
Book Introduction
Are the lives of local youth safe in the face of social disaster?
A new collection of short stories by Lee Ki-ho, a leading Korean literary figure with a gift for the gab. Author Lee Ki-ho, who has demonstrated the aesthetics of short stories through works such as “It’s Not a Big Deal” and “A Three-Year-Old’s Habits Last Until Summer,” has published a new collection of short stories titled “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” As befitting a storyteller who has been praised as “the most ‘conceptual’ cheerfulness presented by literature in the 2000s” (literary critic Shin Hyeong-cheol), the exquisite perspective and sense of humor that captures the moment remain, but the content of the novel has become much more substantial. In a series of 49 short stories, the author focuses on 'local youth'. It follows the lives of two young men, 'Park Jeong-yong' and 'Jeon Jin-man', who have just graduated from college but are burdened with student loan debt, and depicts them working at various part-time jobs such as convenience stores, loading and unloading parcels, and highway rest stops. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, “employers have had a hard time, but the pain of part-time workers seems to come in a more fragmented form. The sentences in the novel that say, “Pain also came urgently” (page 214) evoke deep empathy. Because social disasters are not equal and always pose a greater threat to young people and vulnerable groups. Although Lee Ki-ho's unique wit is scattered throughout the novel, it is difficult to make one laugh out loud. The arduous lives of young people are close to a reality that makes one want to 'close one's eyes', and the minor disagreements between the two characters that continue to pile up make one read the novel with a sense of unease. So, we become quite solemn in the face of the tragedy that appears in the latter half. |
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index
Beware of the darkness behind
move
Such heavy porridge
Look at this father
Fall in love
The man next door, Choi Cheol-gon
Rest area reunion
A feeling that is difficult to explain
First snow
witness
birthday letter
Cherry Blossom Vigil
Teacher's Night
Standing on our shoulders
Angry society
Edge of Heaven
Long padding fitter
A very ugly rock
Spring night, autumn
Your neighbor's misfortune
The Creator's Path
from the loess
People meeting people
Grandfather's Memory Method
All people who endure
Pick me
The fate of the cow
What kind of graduation ceremony
Self-isolation
Don't close your eyes
A bag of bracken
Where do you go to church?
Still alive
The life of a security guard
The work of drawing out even the soul
Merry Christmas
Kapoor's Last Night
necklace
Someone stayed
A small farewell
vacancy
Who speaks of fairness?
missing person report
His actions
small and delicate
Twenty-year-old provincial man
Article 154 of the Road Traffic Act
Sending someone away
Someone to talk to
Author's Note
move
Such heavy porridge
Look at this father
Fall in love
The man next door, Choi Cheol-gon
Rest area reunion
A feeling that is difficult to explain
First snow
witness
birthday letter
Cherry Blossom Vigil
Teacher's Night
Standing on our shoulders
Angry society
Edge of Heaven
Long padding fitter
A very ugly rock
Spring night, autumn
Your neighbor's misfortune
The Creator's Path
from the loess
People meeting people
Grandfather's Memory Method
All people who endure
Pick me
The fate of the cow
What kind of graduation ceremony
Self-isolation
Don't close your eyes
A bag of bracken
Where do you go to church?
Still alive
The life of a security guard
The work of drawing out even the soul
Merry Christmas
Kapoor's Last Night
necklace
Someone stayed
A small farewell
vacancy
Who speaks of fairness?
missing person report
His actions
small and delicate
Twenty-year-old provincial man
Article 154 of the Road Traffic Act
Sending someone away
Someone to talk to
Author's Note
Detailed image
Into the book
Short stories are a genre that is good for focusing on 'moments' or 'events' that appear like flashes of light, but they have the disadvantage of not being able to delve deeply into 'characters'.
In an attempt to overcome that shortcoming, I diligently followed the two characters in the novel, Jeon Jin-man and Park Jeong-yong, for the past five years. However, looking back, it seems that what I recorded was not the friends themselves, but only their "flowing" time.
I could barely do that.
I also didn't expect that time would pass like this for those friends.
---From the author's note
You know what? Darkness can't overcome light! Jinman's voice seemed unable to overcome his drunkenness.
--- p.14
Why did I always live behind such walls? Jeongyong pondered quietly.
A room where sound arrives before the wind, a house where you can feel the chill just from the sound, sounds that get louder when they hit a wall… … .
The semi-basement studio apartment I found with Jinman was also like that.
Every night, I hear the hum of a boiler running somewhere, the snoring of a man in the next room, the flushing of the toilet of the person upstairs, and even the sound of someone's teeth grinding.
The sound grew louder and deeper as it got darker.
Jeongyong thought it was all because of the poor wall.
A wall made of plywood, with a hollow middle… … .
Living behind such a wall, it seemed that one day, I would hear the hollow, hollow sound of air echoing from my body.
--- pp.46~47
It was Saturday night, but someone was climbing into the dizzying void to find someone else's warm bed.
It may simply have been his occupation, but his very appearance seemed to provide some comfort to people.
--- p.72
Jinman thought.
Why do those who have nothing strive to take from each other? Why do only those who have nothing bite and are bitten by each other? Are we some kind of snakes?
--- p.141
While saying that, Jeong Yong also thought that the word ‘self-quarantine’ was a very strange word.
How do people who don't have their own home or room of their own self-quarantine? Is it something they do in their minds?
--- p.208
Jeongyong felt as if the epidemic was constantly revealing who he was.
It felt like my heart was being ripped apart.
That was uncomfortable and made me angry.
--- p.209
Still alive though.
Jeongyong muttered those words without realizing it.
--- p.234
Jeong Yong knew very well that Jin Man didn't even have 250,000 won in his hands right now.
They say that people spend their souls to buy apartments worth hundreds of millions of won...
So what exactly is Jinman's soul? Is it some kind of Daiso-like soul? Is it the soul that resides in a 5,000 won wallet sold at Daiso?
--- p.242
“I mean, I really like hearing the word ‘kapoor’.
House poor, building poor, car poor.
Aren't these words cool? They seem to convey a sense of determination.
Without that, we're just poor, poor."
--- p.254
But that doesn't mean we don't need money, does it? Even if you live in the countryside, your monthly cell phone bill is the same, right? You can only think about your career path, your dreams, and all that without worrying about money...
--- p.297
Around that time, Jeongyong realized that sometimes, just looking at a certain scenery could lead to prayer.
--- p.313
“Because there’s no one to talk to, hyung…
“I feel like I keep talking about drinking.”
In an attempt to overcome that shortcoming, I diligently followed the two characters in the novel, Jeon Jin-man and Park Jeong-yong, for the past five years. However, looking back, it seems that what I recorded was not the friends themselves, but only their "flowing" time.
I could barely do that.
I also didn't expect that time would pass like this for those friends.
---From the author's note
You know what? Darkness can't overcome light! Jinman's voice seemed unable to overcome his drunkenness.
--- p.14
Why did I always live behind such walls? Jeongyong pondered quietly.
A room where sound arrives before the wind, a house where you can feel the chill just from the sound, sounds that get louder when they hit a wall… … .
The semi-basement studio apartment I found with Jinman was also like that.
Every night, I hear the hum of a boiler running somewhere, the snoring of a man in the next room, the flushing of the toilet of the person upstairs, and even the sound of someone's teeth grinding.
The sound grew louder and deeper as it got darker.
Jeongyong thought it was all because of the poor wall.
A wall made of plywood, with a hollow middle… … .
Living behind such a wall, it seemed that one day, I would hear the hollow, hollow sound of air echoing from my body.
--- pp.46~47
It was Saturday night, but someone was climbing into the dizzying void to find someone else's warm bed.
It may simply have been his occupation, but his very appearance seemed to provide some comfort to people.
--- p.72
Jinman thought.
Why do those who have nothing strive to take from each other? Why do only those who have nothing bite and are bitten by each other? Are we some kind of snakes?
--- p.141
While saying that, Jeong Yong also thought that the word ‘self-quarantine’ was a very strange word.
How do people who don't have their own home or room of their own self-quarantine? Is it something they do in their minds?
--- p.208
Jeongyong felt as if the epidemic was constantly revealing who he was.
It felt like my heart was being ripped apart.
That was uncomfortable and made me angry.
--- p.209
Still alive though.
Jeongyong muttered those words without realizing it.
--- p.234
Jeong Yong knew very well that Jin Man didn't even have 250,000 won in his hands right now.
They say that people spend their souls to buy apartments worth hundreds of millions of won...
So what exactly is Jinman's soul? Is it some kind of Daiso-like soul? Is it the soul that resides in a 5,000 won wallet sold at Daiso?
--- p.242
“I mean, I really like hearing the word ‘kapoor’.
House poor, building poor, car poor.
Aren't these words cool? They seem to convey a sense of determination.
Without that, we're just poor, poor."
--- p.254
But that doesn't mean we don't need money, does it? Even if you live in the countryside, your monthly cell phone bill is the same, right? You can only think about your career path, your dreams, and all that without worrying about money...
--- p.297
Around that time, Jeongyong realized that sometimes, just looking at a certain scenery could lead to prayer.
--- p.313
“Because there’s no one to talk to, hyung…
“I feel like I keep talking about drinking.”
--- p.315
Publisher's Review
“Why do people who don’t have anything try to get it from each other?
Why do only those who don’t have anything bite each other?”
We are all 'enduring' hardships a little bit
The main characters of "Don't Close Your Eyes", Jeong Yong and Jin Man, decide to live together in a cheap studio apartment after graduating from a local private university.
It's to save a little money.
They work together at buffets and highway rest stops, and buy pantyhose to save on heating costs and survive the winter.
What they encounter while working various part-time jobs is, as expected, the difficult lives of the poor.
An elderly couple who are having a conflict while selling bungeoppang in front of a fried chicken restaurant, a samgyetang restaurant owner who is causing trouble because she is not good at washing dishes, a delivery man named Choi Hyeon-su who has to pay Jin-man back…
Although we all try to make a good living somehow, we are all people who have difficulties and hardships in our own way.
Whenever Jeongyong and Jinman encounter the lives of others, they sometimes feel a sense of sadness, and sometimes a sense of shame.
“Do you know why poor people get angry more? Do you know why poor people get angry so often that they cause trouble?” Jinman held his breath and just listened to Jeongyong’s words.
“It’s because I’m tired, my body is tired…….
When I'm tired, I just get angry.
“Only those who aren’t tired sit at their desks and spout nonsense about how kindness is a disease!” _Pages 112-113
Jinman is a character who is a bit more immature, weaker, and lacks the so-called ability to survive, especially compared to Jeongyong.
He feels heartbroken seeing dogs being abused by the clumsy grooming practices of the dog grooming academy trainees, and becomes friends with an elementary school student he meets at a comic book cafe.
Some people get jobs at local dairy processors and then quickly quit.
Jeong Yong feels sorry for Jin Man, but also feels a little frustrated.
Then one day, Jeongyong makes a slip of the tongue and calls Jinman a 'beggar'.
The two had exchanged even worse jokes, but since Jeongyong had already paid the entire deposit for the studio apartment that Jinman had been unable to pay, it was a remark that Jinman could not take lightly.
So the two break up and soon after, Jinman goes missing.
Jeongyong had trouble falling asleep and kept tossing and turning.
I thought it was a good thing, that I knew that one day we would live apart, but I also guessed that he would come back tomorrow or the day after as if nothing had happened.
Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to Jeongyong and he sat up in bed. "Ah, that's it, that's why it was like that," he muttered, looking at the dark wall.
It's because of the deposit, I paid the entire deposit for this studio apartment... ... That's why those words must have hurt even more... ... .
You must have felt like a real beggar… … .
Page 269
We are safest together.
The power of a story that transcends wit and pathos
"Don't Close Your Eyes" is not a novel that offers easy comfort.
Lee Ki-ho doesn't give Jeong-yong and Jin-man a 'proper' happy ending.
The reality they have to deal with is always overwhelming, scary, and barely manageable.
But as you read the novel, you realize that they are safest when they are 'together'.
Lee Ki-ho's humor shines in the scenes where Jin-man and Jeong-yong are together and the chemistry they create.
This may be talking about the beauty and importance of 'solidarity', where people support each other.
Also, Lee Min-jae, who appears in the latter half of the novel, speaks in a more direct voice about the need for “someone to talk to.”
As seen in “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” Lee Ki-ho’s perspective on society is becoming more sophisticated and sharper.
The deepening exploration of reality by one of the most sensible humorists of our time is also the reason why we continue to be curious about the world of his subsequent novels.
To the writer, the universal 'region' and 'youth' do not even exist in the first place.
There are only different regions and different young people.
The story always begins there.
I was born in the province, grew up in the province, and still live in the province.
It is also the source of my sensibility, which no one can take away from me.
I'm writing based on that one thing.
It will probably be like that in the future too.
_From the author's note
Why do only those who don’t have anything bite each other?”
We are all 'enduring' hardships a little bit
The main characters of "Don't Close Your Eyes", Jeong Yong and Jin Man, decide to live together in a cheap studio apartment after graduating from a local private university.
It's to save a little money.
They work together at buffets and highway rest stops, and buy pantyhose to save on heating costs and survive the winter.
What they encounter while working various part-time jobs is, as expected, the difficult lives of the poor.
An elderly couple who are having a conflict while selling bungeoppang in front of a fried chicken restaurant, a samgyetang restaurant owner who is causing trouble because she is not good at washing dishes, a delivery man named Choi Hyeon-su who has to pay Jin-man back…
Although we all try to make a good living somehow, we are all people who have difficulties and hardships in our own way.
Whenever Jeongyong and Jinman encounter the lives of others, they sometimes feel a sense of sadness, and sometimes a sense of shame.
“Do you know why poor people get angry more? Do you know why poor people get angry so often that they cause trouble?” Jinman held his breath and just listened to Jeongyong’s words.
“It’s because I’m tired, my body is tired…….
When I'm tired, I just get angry.
“Only those who aren’t tired sit at their desks and spout nonsense about how kindness is a disease!” _Pages 112-113
Jinman is a character who is a bit more immature, weaker, and lacks the so-called ability to survive, especially compared to Jeongyong.
He feels heartbroken seeing dogs being abused by the clumsy grooming practices of the dog grooming academy trainees, and becomes friends with an elementary school student he meets at a comic book cafe.
Some people get jobs at local dairy processors and then quickly quit.
Jeong Yong feels sorry for Jin Man, but also feels a little frustrated.
Then one day, Jeongyong makes a slip of the tongue and calls Jinman a 'beggar'.
The two had exchanged even worse jokes, but since Jeongyong had already paid the entire deposit for the studio apartment that Jinman had been unable to pay, it was a remark that Jinman could not take lightly.
So the two break up and soon after, Jinman goes missing.
Jeongyong had trouble falling asleep and kept tossing and turning.
I thought it was a good thing, that I knew that one day we would live apart, but I also guessed that he would come back tomorrow or the day after as if nothing had happened.
Then, suddenly, a thought occurred to Jeongyong and he sat up in bed. "Ah, that's it, that's why it was like that," he muttered, looking at the dark wall.
It's because of the deposit, I paid the entire deposit for this studio apartment... ... That's why those words must have hurt even more... ... .
You must have felt like a real beggar… … .
Page 269
We are safest together.
The power of a story that transcends wit and pathos
"Don't Close Your Eyes" is not a novel that offers easy comfort.
Lee Ki-ho doesn't give Jeong-yong and Jin-man a 'proper' happy ending.
The reality they have to deal with is always overwhelming, scary, and barely manageable.
But as you read the novel, you realize that they are safest when they are 'together'.
Lee Ki-ho's humor shines in the scenes where Jin-man and Jeong-yong are together and the chemistry they create.
This may be talking about the beauty and importance of 'solidarity', where people support each other.
Also, Lee Min-jae, who appears in the latter half of the novel, speaks in a more direct voice about the need for “someone to talk to.”
As seen in “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” Lee Ki-ho’s perspective on society is becoming more sophisticated and sharper.
The deepening exploration of reality by one of the most sensible humorists of our time is also the reason why we continue to be curious about the world of his subsequent novels.
To the writer, the universal 'region' and 'youth' do not even exist in the first place.
There are only different regions and different young people.
The story always begins there.
I was born in the province, grew up in the province, and still live in the province.
It is also the source of my sensibility, which no one can take away from me.
I'm writing based on that one thing.
It will probably be like that in the future too.
_From the author's note
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Publication date: September 25, 2022
- Format: Hardcover book binding method guide
- Page count, weight, size: 320 pages | 466g | 128*185*30mm
- ISBN13: 9788960907706
- ISBN10: 8960907707
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