The future granted to us
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Description
Book Introduction
In a corner of a world that is cracking and collapsing Eight Greetings from Novelist Jo Hae-jin New short story collection "The Future Granted Us" published Since his literary debut in 2004, novelist Jo Hae-jin has consistently listened to the voices of those living outside the boundaries and center of society and created stories that speak for them. His short story collection, "The Future Granted to Us," has been published. He has published four short story collections and six full-length novels over the past 18 years, and has consistently proven the value of his novels by winning prestigious domestic literary awards such as the Shin Dong-yup Literary Award, the Young Writer Award, the Lee Hyo-seok Literary Award, and the Daesan Literary Award. Jo Hae-jin's "The Future Granted to Us" is the thirteenth short story in the Mind Walk series. The eight novels, written with careful and cautious attitude and meticulously refined sentences, still remain warm and weighty. The author went one step further and incorporated science fiction imagination that had not been readily apparent until now. Lovers Lee Kyung and Hyun Seok (「X-Lee Kyung」 「X-Hyun Seok」) reunite a little over a month before a collision with the unknown planet 'X'; Eun Jeong (「Return」) who prepares to return to Earth to meet her son after wandering in space for 16 years due to a spaceship malfunction; and Nell (「CLOSED」) who has lived for 233 years after succeeding in a life extension project and will continue to live in the future. Through the stories of small individuals in the near or distant future, the author asks readers for comfort in a unique way. This short story was written in collaboration with Kwak Ji-seon (Jenny Kwak), one of the most notable illustrators working in various fields. The uniquely textured illustrations, which visually bring the realm of imagination to life through original ideas and techniques, add a fantastical atmosphere to the book. “For the past two years, we have often pondered how we should live in this corner of the world, where cracks have appeared and things are slowly collapsing. "The future we are allowed to have" may actually be another way of saying "the future we do not want to allow." “I was able to complete each and every one of the works in this collection because I did not want to allow it, and because I hoped that future generations would be free from the mistakes and abuses of the present.” _From the Author’s Note |
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index
Author's Note
X-Lee Kyung
X-Hyunseok
box
Homecoming
The greatest happiness
return
The end
CLOSED
X-Lee Kyung
X-Hyunseok
box
Homecoming
The greatest happiness
return
The end
CLOSED
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Into the book
Kyung-eun Lee was lost in the thought that the restaurant that opened 26 days before that day and the office workers sitting there for lunch at half price were fitting for a comedy of absurdity.
It may be because of the vague probability of 25 percent.
The new condition of life, where one might live three times out of four and die once, was neither pessimistic enough to give up everything, nor ambiguous enough to ignore it as if it were nothing.
It was an ambiguous number.
--- p.20 From "X-Lee Kyung"
Humanity could do nothing.
All I could do was either blindly trust the odds and go on with my life in optimism, or be consumed by anxiety like a patient waiting outside the doctor's office for the doctor's verdict, or desperately doubt God and then kneel down again and pray. That was all.
--- p.46 From "X-Hyunseok"
If the bird population continues to decline, a link in the ecosystem will be broken, causing a huge disaster, and it could even become an express train heading straight to the final destination of human extinction. However, people were more sensitive to the unknown pathogenic factors that the dead birds might contain than to the situation in which the birds were dying.
It was an anxious and suspicious day, after all.
--- p.65 From "Box"
“Actually, I have two names.
One is the name I was called in my hometown, and the other is the name I was given in America… … .
But I hate both of those names.
Because these are names that keep reminding me that I am not worthy of being born and living.
Lara is the name I gave myself.
Lara, it sounds like you're singing.
“I like my name now, don’t you?”
--- p.104~105 from “Homecoming”
Because here, each and every person is a nation, a refugee, and equally poor.
I didn't even know this world existed, caught between the relief that the worst was over and the ominous feeling that the real worst was about to come.
--- p.127 From “The Greatest Happiness”
If there was one silver lining, it was that occasionally a light would be visible.
Someone must be alive to have turned that light on.
There must be people living specifically around the lights.
--- p.151 From "Return"
I laughed as I stirred the inside of the can with my chopsticks.
It was absurd to hear such words from a child as small as a peanut.
The child who at first looked at me with a puzzled look soon started laughing along with me.
My life had arrived at this scene where I was sitting across from someone alive and laughing without even knowing why.
--- p.179 From "The End"
The performer cannot have any memories, let alone dreams, during the night when the power is off and charging.
For the performer, the time between 10 PM and 6 AM was not a time that connected yesterday and today, but rather a kind of boundary that reminded him that yesterday and today were disconnected, and also a temporary death.
The number of nights cut off from the day was clearly determined from the beginning.
It may be because of the vague probability of 25 percent.
The new condition of life, where one might live three times out of four and die once, was neither pessimistic enough to give up everything, nor ambiguous enough to ignore it as if it were nothing.
It was an ambiguous number.
--- p.20 From "X-Lee Kyung"
Humanity could do nothing.
All I could do was either blindly trust the odds and go on with my life in optimism, or be consumed by anxiety like a patient waiting outside the doctor's office for the doctor's verdict, or desperately doubt God and then kneel down again and pray. That was all.
--- p.46 From "X-Hyunseok"
If the bird population continues to decline, a link in the ecosystem will be broken, causing a huge disaster, and it could even become an express train heading straight to the final destination of human extinction. However, people were more sensitive to the unknown pathogenic factors that the dead birds might contain than to the situation in which the birds were dying.
It was an anxious and suspicious day, after all.
--- p.65 From "Box"
“Actually, I have two names.
One is the name I was called in my hometown, and the other is the name I was given in America… … .
But I hate both of those names.
Because these are names that keep reminding me that I am not worthy of being born and living.
Lara is the name I gave myself.
Lara, it sounds like you're singing.
“I like my name now, don’t you?”
--- p.104~105 from “Homecoming”
Because here, each and every person is a nation, a refugee, and equally poor.
I didn't even know this world existed, caught between the relief that the worst was over and the ominous feeling that the real worst was about to come.
--- p.127 From “The Greatest Happiness”
If there was one silver lining, it was that occasionally a light would be visible.
Someone must be alive to have turned that light on.
There must be people living specifically around the lights.
--- p.151 From "Return"
I laughed as I stirred the inside of the can with my chopsticks.
It was absurd to hear such words from a child as small as a peanut.
The child who at first looked at me with a puzzled look soon started laughing along with me.
My life had arrived at this scene where I was sitting across from someone alive and laughing without even knowing why.
--- p.179 From "The End"
The performer cannot have any memories, let alone dreams, during the night when the power is off and charging.
For the performer, the time between 10 PM and 6 AM was not a time that connected yesterday and today, but rather a kind of boundary that reminded him that yesterday and today were disconnected, and also a temporary death.
The number of nights cut off from the day was clearly determined from the beginning.
--- p.185~188 From 「CLOSED」
Publisher's Review
“Is this the last midnight on Earth,
Or is it just one of the many boundaries between today and tomorrow?”
A story drawn step by step, imagining an unplanned future
Among the eight short stories, the most striking are the science fiction stories presented by Jo Hae-jin.
He expands the world of his novels by expanding the setting of his works to a more distant future and into space beyond Earth.
The characters in "The Future Granted Us" live their lives feeling both despair and resignation as they encounter events of global scale.
The incident is also connected to 'death', which makes further life impossible.
The series "X-Lee Kyung" and "X-Hyun Seok" tells the story of Lee Kyung and Hyeon Seok, former lovers who reunite on the 26th, the day of the collision with Asteroid X.
The vague probability of a collision of 25 percent does not completely take away our daily lives, and people spend their days in an ambiguous manner.
However, Lee Kyung, who is more sensitive to death, suddenly decides to visit Hyunseok's house, from which she broke up seven years ago, and spend the 26 days that may be her last in life.
Hyun-seok, who has witnessed countless deaths as a funeral director, pretends to be indifferent to the coming of 'that day' and to Lee-kyung's visit, but as time passes, his confusion grows and he eventually explodes with fear and anger at Lee-kyung.
To Hyun-seok, Lee Kyung was “a guest who came with X and a familiar yet new companion in death.”
Even on the day when news of X's discovery was delivered, Hyunseok lived the same daily life as the day before.
On D-Day, the day when X collides with Earth once every four times, I planned to take sleeping pills and go to bed earlier than usual.
If it was a moment where I was engulfed in flames and turned to ash in an instant, I hoped it would pass while I was sleeping.
To Hyun-seok, Lee Kyung was a guest who came with X, a familiar yet new companion in death.
_From "X-Hyunseok"
Set in 2254, within the dome that has become humanity's final territory, "CLOSED" offers a deeper reflection on life and death.
Nell, who has been alive for 233 years with her physical condition fixed at 40 due to the success of the 'Life Extension Project', is an alcoholic suffering from depression who lives in an isolated cell with no contact with the outside world.
His only conversation partner, the robot attendant HN0034, checks on his condition daily and reports the data to the center.
One day, Nell questions whether she might actually be the only person in the dome. HN0034 dismisses Nell's claims as delusional, but appears agitated and asks if she wishes to stop the life extension.
In a world where even self-immolation is impossible, Nell, who may be the last human being, faces the fear of eternal loneliness.
Nell said, putting strength into the arm holding HN0034.
Nell would like to share her body heat, but the only thing on the attendant's silver skin would be the warmth radiating from the residual electrical energy.
Where does human depression originate? HN0034 suddenly wondered.
(…) Why do the various emotions derived from depression make humans, who are free from a fixed lifespan, so weak?
_From 「CLOSED」
The fear and anxiety felt by the characters in a world where unusual events occur penetrates the reader.
The author depicts a "future we do not want to allow" where the end is postponed, revealing his inner wish that "future generations will be free from the mistakes and abuses of the present."
“It’s dangerous for a child to go out alone.
“Here, no, now.”
A message to move forward into the light with others
Affectionate gaze toward others is also still evident throughout the novel.
Suho, who lives in a ruined city that is crumbling beyond repair due to climate crisis and natural disasters, has a chip implanted in his brain from an accident in his childhood.
Unsure whether he is truly human because of the chip, he takes a risk and heads from Seoul to Pohang to find someone with experience in chip removal surgery.
Suho, who finds Seungjae left alone there, hears that the child's mother has been taken away by someone.
His mother was also 'absent' after leaving for space when he was young and never returned, and the two head to Seoul together as if to fill her absence.
I tried to organize my thoughts as I walked, thinking, "Let's not worry about the child's choice."
The child is just living out the rest of his days, and I don't even know if it's fortunate that he met me in the process or not.
I decided to trust in my luck, knowing that I still had some food left in my bag and that I had a garden in Seoul that could feed two people.
_Pages 174-176 "The End"
"The Future Granted Us" is a new attempt by novelist Jo Hae-jin, and a deeper variation of his warm gaze toward others.
He is not entirely optimistic about the future.
There will still be marginalized people in the future, and writers actively bring them into the spotlight to help them find their voices.
His sincere appeal to share warmth, like body temperature, rather than pity, and listen to each other's stories is reassuring.
Or is it just one of the many boundaries between today and tomorrow?”
A story drawn step by step, imagining an unplanned future
Among the eight short stories, the most striking are the science fiction stories presented by Jo Hae-jin.
He expands the world of his novels by expanding the setting of his works to a more distant future and into space beyond Earth.
The characters in "The Future Granted Us" live their lives feeling both despair and resignation as they encounter events of global scale.
The incident is also connected to 'death', which makes further life impossible.
The series "X-Lee Kyung" and "X-Hyun Seok" tells the story of Lee Kyung and Hyeon Seok, former lovers who reunite on the 26th, the day of the collision with Asteroid X.
The vague probability of a collision of 25 percent does not completely take away our daily lives, and people spend their days in an ambiguous manner.
However, Lee Kyung, who is more sensitive to death, suddenly decides to visit Hyunseok's house, from which she broke up seven years ago, and spend the 26 days that may be her last in life.
Hyun-seok, who has witnessed countless deaths as a funeral director, pretends to be indifferent to the coming of 'that day' and to Lee-kyung's visit, but as time passes, his confusion grows and he eventually explodes with fear and anger at Lee-kyung.
To Hyun-seok, Lee Kyung was “a guest who came with X and a familiar yet new companion in death.”
Even on the day when news of X's discovery was delivered, Hyunseok lived the same daily life as the day before.
On D-Day, the day when X collides with Earth once every four times, I planned to take sleeping pills and go to bed earlier than usual.
If it was a moment where I was engulfed in flames and turned to ash in an instant, I hoped it would pass while I was sleeping.
To Hyun-seok, Lee Kyung was a guest who came with X, a familiar yet new companion in death.
_From "X-Hyunseok"
Set in 2254, within the dome that has become humanity's final territory, "CLOSED" offers a deeper reflection on life and death.
Nell, who has been alive for 233 years with her physical condition fixed at 40 due to the success of the 'Life Extension Project', is an alcoholic suffering from depression who lives in an isolated cell with no contact with the outside world.
His only conversation partner, the robot attendant HN0034, checks on his condition daily and reports the data to the center.
One day, Nell questions whether she might actually be the only person in the dome. HN0034 dismisses Nell's claims as delusional, but appears agitated and asks if she wishes to stop the life extension.
In a world where even self-immolation is impossible, Nell, who may be the last human being, faces the fear of eternal loneliness.
Nell said, putting strength into the arm holding HN0034.
Nell would like to share her body heat, but the only thing on the attendant's silver skin would be the warmth radiating from the residual electrical energy.
Where does human depression originate? HN0034 suddenly wondered.
(…) Why do the various emotions derived from depression make humans, who are free from a fixed lifespan, so weak?
_From 「CLOSED」
The fear and anxiety felt by the characters in a world where unusual events occur penetrates the reader.
The author depicts a "future we do not want to allow" where the end is postponed, revealing his inner wish that "future generations will be free from the mistakes and abuses of the present."
“It’s dangerous for a child to go out alone.
“Here, no, now.”
A message to move forward into the light with others
Affectionate gaze toward others is also still evident throughout the novel.
Suho, who lives in a ruined city that is crumbling beyond repair due to climate crisis and natural disasters, has a chip implanted in his brain from an accident in his childhood.
Unsure whether he is truly human because of the chip, he takes a risk and heads from Seoul to Pohang to find someone with experience in chip removal surgery.
Suho, who finds Seungjae left alone there, hears that the child's mother has been taken away by someone.
His mother was also 'absent' after leaving for space when he was young and never returned, and the two head to Seoul together as if to fill her absence.
I tried to organize my thoughts as I walked, thinking, "Let's not worry about the child's choice."
The child is just living out the rest of his days, and I don't even know if it's fortunate that he met me in the process or not.
I decided to trust in my luck, knowing that I still had some food left in my bag and that I had a garden in Seoul that could feed two people.
_Pages 174-176 "The End"
"The Future Granted Us" is a new attempt by novelist Jo Hae-jin, and a deeper variation of his warm gaze toward others.
He is not entirely optimistic about the future.
There will still be marginalized people in the future, and writers actively bring them into the spotlight to help them find their voices.
His sincere appeal to share warmth, like body temperature, rather than pity, and listen to each other's stories is reassuring.
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: January 20, 2022
- Format: Hardcover book binding method guide
- Page count, weight, size: 216 pages | 360g | 136*193*17mm
- ISBN13: 9788960907218
- ISBN10: 8960907219
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