Part 1
Part 2

Essay: Farewell, Sadness_Françoise Sagan
The Life of Françoise Sagan: I Have the Right to Destroy Myself_Tristan Savin
Commentary: The Original Source of "Sagandaum," Meet Yourself in the Novel! _Kim Nam-joo
Author's chronology

The origins of Sagang literature

In a 1954 interview, Sagang said:
“It seems like the writer writes the same work over and over again.
“The only differences are the angle of view, the method, and the lighting.” When Sa Kang published his debut work, ‘Goodbye, Sadness,’ at the age of eighteen, Sa Kang was already Sa Kang.
Concise and sharp reflections on human nature, brisk and elegant prose, a cynicism toward established morals and ideas, and bold compositions and plots.
As with all geniuses' first works, everything about Sa Kang is fully expressed in his debut work, "Goodbye, Sadness."
As Sa Kang himself said, the dozens of works he published afterward may all have originated from “Goodbye, Sadness” and are nothing more than various variations of “Goodbye, Sadness.”


In addition to the delicate and sensitive translation by translator Kim Nam-joo, "Goodbye, Sadness" also includes two essays to aid understanding of the work.
An essay written by Sagan himself, looking back on that time 40 years after the publication of "Goodbye, Sadness," conveys a vivid and interesting appreciation of the work, and the writing of critic Tristan Savin, who traced Sagan's life from birth to death, introduces various aspects of Sagan's life that were more literary than literature.
In "Goodbye, Sadness," now available with a new cover, readers will still discover the fascinating roots of Sagang's literature.


A literary bridge to another world
About the 'Classic Library' series

The Classic Library is a new world literature series from Arte, and is another ambitious attempt that follows in the footsteps of the acclaimed "Classic Cloud" travelogue series that traces the footsteps of masters of literature, philosophy, and art.
If the Classic Cloud series is about meeting the master through 'space', its sibling, the Classic Library series, is about feeling the breath of the master through 'works'.
With this, the three bridges that connect us to the master, namely ‘space’, ‘work’, and ‘life’, have finally been established.


While there are already many world literature series on the market, Arte has put a lot of effort into making them more accessible to young readers of our time.
Not only was the translation painstakingly done by a professional translator of the author or work, but a youthful and refreshing design was put forward, breaking away from the heavy and serious feeling that often comes to mind when thinking of classics.
Whether in terms of the quality of the translations or the appearance of the containers that house them, the Classics Library is another good option for today's young readers.


After about five years of preparation, the four works that will be released for the first time in the spring of 2023 are 『Goodbye, Sorrow』 (written by Françoise Sagan, translated by Kim Nam-joo), 『The Peaceful Life』 (written by Marguerite Duras, translated by Yoon Jin), 『A Room of One's Own』 (written by Virginia Woolf, translated by Ahn Si-yeol), and 『Wuthering Heights』 (written by Emily Brontë, translated by Yoon Kyo-chan), and they all have in common that they contain female narratives.
More than ever, female narratives are driving cultural trends.
Therefore, it will be a joy to encounter a classic female narrative newly translated.
Arte also plans to publish a total of 19 world literature titles this year, including 『Metamorphosis』, 『1984』, 『No Longer Human』, 『Walden』, and 『The Picture of Dorian Gray』.