“Her fiction is a breath-taking piece of a cinematic art itself. Reminiscent of the world we experienced in Matrix, Inception, and Dark City, still it leads us to this entirely original structure, which is a ground-breaking, mystic literary and cinematic experience. Indeed, powerful and graceful.”—Bong Joon-ho, Oscar-winning director of Parasite
In this mind-expanding work of speculative fiction, available in English for the first time, one of South Korea’s most treasured writers explores the driving forces of humanity—love, hope, creation, destruction, and the very meaning of existence—in two pairs of thematically interconnected stories.
Two worlds, four stories, infinite possibilities
In “I’m Waiting for You” and “On My Way,” an engaged couple coordinate their separate missions to distant corners of the galaxy to ensure—through relativity—they can arrive back on Earth simultaneously to make it down the aisle. But small incidents wreak havoc on space and time, driving their wedding date further away. As centuries on Earth pass and the land and climate change, one thing is constant: the desire of the lovers to be together. In two separate yet linked stories, Kim Bo-Young cleverly demonstrate the idea love that is timeless and hope springs eternal, despite seemingly insurmountable challenges and the deepest despair.
In “The Prophet of Corruption” and “That One Life,” humanity is viewed through the eyes of its creators: godlike beings for which everything on Earth—from the richest woman to a speck of dirt—is an extension of their will. When one of the creations questions the righteousness of this arrangement, it is deemed a perversion—a disease—that must be excised and cured. Yet the Prophet Naban, whose “child” is rebelling, isn’t sure the rebellion is bad. What if that which is considered criminal is instead the natural order—and those who condemn it corrupt? Exploring the dichotomy between the philosophical and the corporeal, Kim ponders the fate of free-will, as she considers the most basic of questions: who am I?
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“Her fiction is a breath-taking piece of a cinematic art itself. Reminiscent of the world we experienced in Matrix…it leads us to this original structure and cinematic experience.”
— Bong Joon-ho, Oscar-winning director of Parasite
“As much about the process of translation as it is about science fiction, Buddhism, and how to live among people…to beautiful, dizzying effect.”
— New York Times“Bold, inventive, and utterly unforgettable, Bo-Young's stories are designed to take your breath away.”
— PopSugarBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Kim Bo-young is a South Korean science fiction writer based in Gangwon Province, South Korea. In addition to her novels and short story collections, she worked as a script advisor for Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer in 2013. She is the first Korean science fiction author to be published by HarperCollins.
Jackie Chung is an actress and Earphones Award-winning narrator. Her acting credits include several short films, as well as appearances in television shows.