Snow in April
monsters
zip
Ariadne's Garden
Someone else's house
Man in the Box
What is literature?
Unopened bookstore

Commentary | Electrification
Author's Note
Announcement page of included works

“There’s no ifs or buts about what’s already happened.”
The obvious truth that we can never go back to the way things were before

The title piece, "Someone Else's House," tells the story of a young man, "I," who was fired from his job and practically kicked out of his house due to a rent increase, and who moves into a share house in a large apartment complex "near the subway, the shopping district, and the cheap rent district" as an illegal renter.
Amidst the petty conflicts that seem like something out of a Nate board, the tenants spend the night rearranging the layout of their rooms and preparing a clumsy play to hide the fact that they are living there illegally before the landlord's sudden visit.
But the next day, when I hear from the landlord who visited with strangers that the house is for sale, I realize the miserable reality that my “fate” of whereabouts is once again in someone else’s hands.
The anecdotes about realistic characters and events, such as 'Mr. Kwaijo', who constantly talks about cost-effectiveness and the principles of capitalism as if they were bullshit philosophy, and 'Sister Jaehwa', who asked to use 'her' private bathroom for 50 won per item, are even more bitter because they are ridiculous.

In the face of such sudden tragedy and problems, the protagonists of the short story collection “Someone Else’s House” show their lives being shaken to their core through their faces that suddenly become distorted.
The story unfolds with a sense of tension that seems ready to explode from the beginning to the end, and when combined with the author's signature cool prose, it presents a suspenseful experience, as if watching a thriller movie.
In "Zip," the daily life of "Movie", who lived as a faithful wife and mother in a "normal family" with her husband, son, and daughter, was turned upside down by a single word from her husband, "Gi-han."
“That woman doesn’t know anyway.” Until then, the movie had dreamed of escaping, but had lived with a strong will. Before overhearing these powerful words, the movie couldn’t go back. With his heart boiling with excitement, he spoke the words he had been holding back in front of an artificial lake in an unsold apartment complex of unknown depth.

“I’m going to kill Dad.
Tonight, evening.
The 'woman' in 'Monsters', who secretly reads her twin sons' shocking note saying "With our own hands", also spends an anxious day with her face crumbling.
Even though she tries hard to believe that it couldn't be true, the woman is genuinely worried that the children who "ate" her by calling her "mom" might have killed their father.
The story reaches an even more shocking conclusion when the neurotic woman's words and actions leave the readers gripped by a constant anxiety that the children may actually have killed their husband.


When life changes its face in an instant
A way of being that is only possible after being broken

On the other hand, this tragedy seems to have originated from a small crack that suddenly appeared one day, but the author seems to be saying that this small crack was already distorted and damaged within a person, in a relationship, in a family, or in various parts of our society, and was already foreshadowing its collapse.
In particular, when depicting “the specific face of a person praying to save himself and a bird’s-eye view of the world that comes into view as he gets further and further away from him,” Son Won-pyeong’s “plain narrative without hypocrisy or falsehood” (commentary, biographical) is fully displayed.

"The Garden of Ariadne" is a science fiction novel set in a nursing home in the not-too-distant future where the elderly make up the vast majority of the population.
'Min-ah' is living in the 'Ariadne Garden', a D-class unit, having fallen further from the A-class.
It is completely different from the old age he had envisioned, but for him, who has no family to prove his death and is not even allowed a humane death called 'euthanasia', the only joy is the visit from his 'welfare partners', young immigrants 'Yuri' and 'Ain'.
As the story unfolds, Min-ah, who appears to be generous and affectionate, gradually reveals her true reason for cherishing her relationships with Yuri and Ain, along with her anti-immigrant sentiments. Yuri and Ain say that today is their last day of being fired and that they will now join the youth of their own country in demanding the abolition of the unit that only serves the elderly who are "eating up taxpayer money."

The novel, which begins with the unfortunate story of 'Min-ah,' follows the divisive and wavering voices, unfolding unfiltered issues facing our society, such as low birth rates, aging population, immigration, intergenerational conflict, discrimination against single-person households, the sense of deprivation of the younger generation, and hatred toward the older generation, as if to confirm them once again.
These all-too-familiar scenes, which in an instant become a bird's-eye view of present-day Korean society and then expand into a dystopian future that is about to come, evoke a feeling that could almost be called fear, and seem to tell us that we need to face our true colors now.


The will to face reality head on
Between the tension of affectionate involvement with humans
The sense that Son Won-pyeong's novels hold and never let go of

The 'I' in 'The Man in the Box' tries to have a hard heart like a box.
After seeing his brother become a vegetable in an accident while trying to save a child in danger, he decided that he would never show any kindness to the world.
But one Christmas Eve, I became a witness to a terrible murder and was plagued by guilt for not being able to do anything after the incident.
It was only after some time had passed and I helped save a woman's life that I was able to become a little more gentle.
After saving a woman who had collapsed in an apartment flower bed with another girl and desperately crying out, “I hope she survives,” I intuitively realize that the girl is the child my older brother had saved before.

This work, which can be read as a continuation of the author's previous work, "Almond," shares with "Almond" the belief that "what holds the world together so that it does not become a worse place is none other than 'each other,'" and asks about the possibility of pure goodwill and solidarity.
As Son Won-pyeong's novels have always oscillated between "the will to properly face reality and the tension of affectionate involvement with the characters" (commentary), this is a valuable conclusion that transcends hasty optimism or easy cynicism.
With a cool and affectionate expression, the world of Son Won-pyeong is presented before us in the form of another book.
As you turn each page, I hope you can grasp in your hands the “solid realization that facing the world’s ups and downs and holding the hand of another are the same thing” (Recommendation, Baek Su-rin).


"We live in strange times.
The trend of uniformity, which dictates that everyone's actions and thoughts must be the same, seems to be further encroaching on people in this world of infectious diseases.
The public, which does not tolerate any thoughts that are different from the so-called mainstream, forces obedience and apologies on those who do not, as if punishing them.
The only way to avoid becoming a target of monsters is to keep your mouth shut and not speak out.
Sadly, until the tide turns, the majority will remain silent and turn a blind eye to the absurdity.
Even though we cannot help but protect ourselves from monsters, let us not neglect to look closely at ourselves and others.
Then, we come to realize that, just as in our own universe, there are various operating principles within the universes of others.
Not only to avoid becoming a monster, but also to truly communicate with others and to exist as oneself alone, one must look at others with a calm, observing gaze.
If the act of literature is to look into the homes of others without judging them, then the role of books is clear.

Books lead us from the masses to citizens, from spectators to readers.

Of course, this book is shamefully not a great book that can accomplish such a great task.
However, I would be proud if readers would sometimes take to heart what the title of this book suggests."

Summer 2021
Son Won-pyeong