How to Love in the Big City (Special Limited Edition to Commemorate 150,000 Copies)
 |
Description
Book Introduction
Summer night, my beautiful city, maybe because of you The cutting edge of young fiction, Park Sang-young's new novel Park Sang-young, who won the 2019 Young Writer's Award and captivated countless readers with a collection of short stories (Tears of an Unknown Artist and Zaytun Pasta), has published a new novel series titled "Love in the City." This is the author's second collection of short stories, a collection of four short stories that became a hot topic as soon as they were published, including the Young Writer's Award winner "A Spot of Sea Bass, the Taste of the Universe." These beautiful works depict the journey of youthful love and separation, sometimes humorously and lightly, and at other times deeply reflective. The book went through major and minor revisions during the process of being compiled, and the story of the writer 'Young' in his early 30s, who is "all the same and all different at the same time" ('Author's Note'), as he struggles to learn about life and love unfolds in a surprisingly interesting and profound way. This is an outstanding novel that leaves a strong impression when combined with the summer cityscape, and is “a novel you can never put down” (recommended by Kim Ha-na). As evidence of this, a translation and publication contract was already signed with the British Tilted Axis Press before publication. This was an unusual development for a Korean novel, as it received significant attention from Deborah Smith, who won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize alongside author Han Kang for her translation of “The Vegetarian.” |
- You can preview some of the book's contents.
Preview
index
Jaehee
A taste of the universe in one sea bass
How to Love in the Big City
Late rainy season vacation
Commentary | Kang Ji-hee
Special Prose | Park Sang-young
Author's Note
Announcement page of included works
Recommendation
A taste of the universe in one sea bass
How to Love in the Big City
Late rainy season vacation
Commentary | Kang Ji-hee
Special Prose | Park Sang-young
Author's Note
Announcement page of included works
Recommendation
Detailed image
Into the book
Ever since Jaehee saw me enjoying frozen blueberries, he's been buying bulk frozen American blueberries and putting them in the freezer every time he goes grocery shopping.
As a token of gratitude, I bought Jaehee her favorite Marlboro Red and placed it next to the blueberries in the freezer.
Jaehee said that he liked the cool taste on his lips every time he took out a new cigarette and smoked it.
---From "Jaehee"
After exchanging meaningless messages like that for a while, everything would suddenly become meaningless, like a deflated balloon, because it occurred to me that he wasn't interested in me (in any sense), but was just a lonely person who wanted to vent to a wall about anything.
I knew the temperature and smell of that lonely heart all too well.
Because that's exactly the kind of person I was back then.
---From "A Taste of the Universe in a Single Sea Bass"
-The more transparent one is the flounder.
-yes?
-It will be easy to tell the difference if you think about it as the flounder with more transparent flesh between the two.
The chewier one is sea bass.
-Then from today on, call me sea bass.
Chewy.
I'm drunk and not even human. What did I just say? I'm really crazy. While I was thinking that, the man answered again with a serious face.
-No, I'll call it flounder.
Because you can see everything inside.
---From "A Taste of the Universe in a Single Sea Bass"
One night, after a long time had passed, when the two of us were lying together, I asked Gyuho.
Why did you decide to date me so readily when Kylie was around?
-Be it or not, it was you.
So, or however, or despite, it was you.
I liked that saying so much that I kept repeating it to myself as if I was holding water in my mouth.
-Either way or not.
---From "How to Love in the City"
I think I've wanted to prove to myself, through writing, that Gyu-ho and our relationship were something special and unique to us that no one could invade, that it was 100% genuine.
I tried to create and overlay Gyuho in all sorts of different ways, to fully show my relationship with him and our times together, but the harder I tried, the more distant I became from Gyuho and my feelings at that time.
It ends up becoming something vague and far from the truth.
As a token of gratitude, I bought Jaehee her favorite Marlboro Red and placed it next to the blueberries in the freezer.
Jaehee said that he liked the cool taste on his lips every time he took out a new cigarette and smoked it.
---From "Jaehee"
After exchanging meaningless messages like that for a while, everything would suddenly become meaningless, like a deflated balloon, because it occurred to me that he wasn't interested in me (in any sense), but was just a lonely person who wanted to vent to a wall about anything.
I knew the temperature and smell of that lonely heart all too well.
Because that's exactly the kind of person I was back then.
---From "A Taste of the Universe in a Single Sea Bass"
-The more transparent one is the flounder.
-yes?
-It will be easy to tell the difference if you think about it as the flounder with more transparent flesh between the two.
The chewier one is sea bass.
-Then from today on, call me sea bass.
Chewy.
I'm drunk and not even human. What did I just say? I'm really crazy. While I was thinking that, the man answered again with a serious face.
-No, I'll call it flounder.
Because you can see everything inside.
---From "A Taste of the Universe in a Single Sea Bass"
One night, after a long time had passed, when the two of us were lying together, I asked Gyuho.
Why did you decide to date me so readily when Kylie was around?
-Be it or not, it was you.
So, or however, or despite, it was you.
I liked that saying so much that I kept repeating it to myself as if I was holding water in my mouth.
-Either way or not.
---From "How to Love in the City"
I think I've wanted to prove to myself, through writing, that Gyu-ho and our relationship were something special and unique to us that no one could invade, that it was 100% genuine.
I tried to create and overlay Gyuho in all sorts of different ways, to fully show my relationship with him and our times together, but the harder I tried, the more distant I became from Gyuho and my feelings at that time.
It ends up becoming something vague and far from the truth.
---From "Late Rainy Season Vacation"
Publisher's Review
“So, actually, I need you a lot.”
It's a pleasure to come across such a lively and lovely novel.
In "Jaehee," the protagonist, a gay man, lives with a woman named Jaehee, a classmate from college.
Jaehee and I, who have “a weak sense of chastity,” become close while chatting about the men we meet and sharing each other’s secrets, but we end up living together after Jaehee is threatened by a stalker.
The two go through major events in their 20s together, such as Jaehee's abortion, the death of her lover, and her debut as a writer.
The story of the two people's turbulent youth and Jae-hee's journey to marriage unfolds in a humorous and captivating manner, and the poignant ending leaves a lasting impression.
“A Sea Bass, a Taste of the Universe” is a masterpiece of short stories that is worthy of the commentary of Kang Ji-hee, who called it “the longest and most overwhelmingly beautiful work in this collection.”
The narrator, Young, who is caring for her mother who is battling terminal cancer, receives a letter from her brother, whom she loved passionately five years ago, and her heart is stirred again, recalling the past.
They met in a philosophy class and fell in love, but the more he got to know the narrator, the more mysterious he became.
Still haunted by his past as a student activist, he scolds the speaker for liking America and still cannot shake off the suspicion that the government is watching him. He is a peculiar person who cannot accept the 'evil custom' of 'homosexuality' even though he is gay.
This novel is also filled with humor throughout, but the author is not satisfied with that and 'overwhelmingly beautiful' unfolds the protagonist's trajectory, from the everyday life of an ordinary young man who endlessly writes self-introductions to reflecting on life and death through the presence of his mother.
The title works, “Love in the City” and “Late Rainy Season Vacation” are directly connected works.
The protagonist of "Lovestruck in the City" is a man who gets drunk at clubs all the time, sells theater program books that don't sell, and spends his time writing "trashy writings." He also harbors the secret that he contracted HIV due to his partner's carelessness.
After developing feelings for each other, he confesses this to club bartender Gyuho, and their relationship begins with Gyuho's response of "Whatever you do, you."
A long-term relationship that is both happy and boring suddenly reaches a turning point due to an unexpected event.
"Late Rainy Season Vacation" is the story of a narrator who goes to Bangkok alone.
This novel, centered around the narrator's footsteps as he recalls the glorious times he spent with Gyu-ho in Bangkok, is different from the other novels in the series in that it focuses on the emotions of loss and loneliness, with a particularly humorous tone. The short confession at the end leaves a strong lingering impression, marking the end of this series.
“While I was holding him, I felt like I had everything in the world.”
The Evolution of Queer Fiction or the Achievements of Korean Fiction
Queer fiction has already become an important topic in Korean literature.
Among them, Park Sang-young has quickly established himself as a young writer who is receiving a lot of attention by bringing out aspects of sex that can be seen as frivolous into the charm of his work while also containing complex thoughts within it.
Reading Park Sang-young's novels solely through the lens of queer narratives can fail to fully appreciate all the virtues he possesses, from his direct reflections on the lives of the younger generation, his profound reflections on love and loss, life and death, and his perspective that extends from personal emotions to the emotional landscape of our society.
However, on the contrary, calling Park Sang-young's novel a "universal" story may also limit the new possibilities of our literature.
Then, what if we say that Park Sang-young's novel is just Park Sang-young's novel?
If Park Sang-young's novel existed, the number of people who thought, "It's okay to be sick, drunk, and crying," and "I can believe in the survival of love once more" (recommendation by Kim Geum-hee) would increase even more steeply.
It's a pleasure to come across such a lively and lovely novel.
In "Jaehee," the protagonist, a gay man, lives with a woman named Jaehee, a classmate from college.
Jaehee and I, who have “a weak sense of chastity,” become close while chatting about the men we meet and sharing each other’s secrets, but we end up living together after Jaehee is threatened by a stalker.
The two go through major events in their 20s together, such as Jaehee's abortion, the death of her lover, and her debut as a writer.
The story of the two people's turbulent youth and Jae-hee's journey to marriage unfolds in a humorous and captivating manner, and the poignant ending leaves a lasting impression.
“A Sea Bass, a Taste of the Universe” is a masterpiece of short stories that is worthy of the commentary of Kang Ji-hee, who called it “the longest and most overwhelmingly beautiful work in this collection.”
The narrator, Young, who is caring for her mother who is battling terminal cancer, receives a letter from her brother, whom she loved passionately five years ago, and her heart is stirred again, recalling the past.
They met in a philosophy class and fell in love, but the more he got to know the narrator, the more mysterious he became.
Still haunted by his past as a student activist, he scolds the speaker for liking America and still cannot shake off the suspicion that the government is watching him. He is a peculiar person who cannot accept the 'evil custom' of 'homosexuality' even though he is gay.
This novel is also filled with humor throughout, but the author is not satisfied with that and 'overwhelmingly beautiful' unfolds the protagonist's trajectory, from the everyday life of an ordinary young man who endlessly writes self-introductions to reflecting on life and death through the presence of his mother.
The title works, “Love in the City” and “Late Rainy Season Vacation” are directly connected works.
The protagonist of "Lovestruck in the City" is a man who gets drunk at clubs all the time, sells theater program books that don't sell, and spends his time writing "trashy writings." He also harbors the secret that he contracted HIV due to his partner's carelessness.
After developing feelings for each other, he confesses this to club bartender Gyuho, and their relationship begins with Gyuho's response of "Whatever you do, you."
A long-term relationship that is both happy and boring suddenly reaches a turning point due to an unexpected event.
"Late Rainy Season Vacation" is the story of a narrator who goes to Bangkok alone.
This novel, centered around the narrator's footsteps as he recalls the glorious times he spent with Gyu-ho in Bangkok, is different from the other novels in the series in that it focuses on the emotions of loss and loneliness, with a particularly humorous tone. The short confession at the end leaves a strong lingering impression, marking the end of this series.
“While I was holding him, I felt like I had everything in the world.”
The Evolution of Queer Fiction or the Achievements of Korean Fiction
Queer fiction has already become an important topic in Korean literature.
Among them, Park Sang-young has quickly established himself as a young writer who is receiving a lot of attention by bringing out aspects of sex that can be seen as frivolous into the charm of his work while also containing complex thoughts within it.
Reading Park Sang-young's novels solely through the lens of queer narratives can fail to fully appreciate all the virtues he possesses, from his direct reflections on the lives of the younger generation, his profound reflections on love and loss, life and death, and his perspective that extends from personal emotions to the emotional landscape of our society.
However, on the contrary, calling Park Sang-young's novel a "universal" story may also limit the new possibilities of our literature.
Then, what if we say that Park Sang-young's novel is just Park Sang-young's novel?
If Park Sang-young's novel existed, the number of people who thought, "It's okay to be sick, drunk, and crying," and "I can believe in the survival of love once more" (recommendation by Kim Geum-hee) would increase even more steeply.
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: July 1, 2019
- Format: Hardcover book binding method guide
- Page count, weight, size: 376 pages | 376g | 122*188*30mm
- ISBN13: 9788936437978
- ISBN10: 8936437976
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)
