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'[A]n affecting portrait of people doing their best to survive in a world that would rather pretend they didn't exist.' New York Times
In a country called 'Town', Su is found dead in an abandoned car. The suspected killer is presumed to come from the Saha Estates.
Town is a privatised country, controlled by a secretive organisation known as the Seven Premiers. It is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots and those who have the very least live on the Saha Estates. Among their number is Jin-Kyung, a young woman whose brother, Dok-yung, was in a relationship with Su and quickly becomes the police's prime suspect. When Dok-yung disappears, Jin Ky-ung is determined to get to the bottom of things. On her quest to find the truth, though, she will uncover a reality far darker and crimes far greater than she could ever have imagined.
At once a dystopian mystery and devastating critique of how we live now, Saha lifts the lid on corruption, exploitation and government oppression, while, with deep humanity and compassion, showing us the lives of those who, through no fault of their own, suffer at the hand of brutal forces far beyond their control.
Praise for Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
'It describes experiences that will be recognisable everywhere. It's slim, unadorned narrative distils a lifetime's iniquities into a sharp punch.' The Sunday Times
'A ground-breaking work of feminist fiction' Stylist
'Along with other socially critical narratives to come out of Korea, such as Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film Parasite, her story could change the bigger one.' The Guardian
'This witty, disturbing book deals with sexism, mental health issues and the hypocrisy of a country where young women are "popping caffeine pills and turning jaundiced" as they slave away in factories helping to fund higher education for male siblings.' The Independent
'Enthralling and enraging.' Sunday Express
'Cho's moving, witty and powerful novel forces us to face our reality, in which one woman is seen, pretty much, as interchangeable with any other. There's a logic to Kim Jiyoung's shape-shifting: she could be anybody.' Daily Telegraph
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
November 24, 2022 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781398510012
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781398510012
- File size: 8719 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 19, 2022
National Book Award finalist Cho (Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982) explores the implications of a corporation with unlimited power in this nuanced dystopian tale. An unnamed company buys a fishing village, and as the narrative progresses into the near future, the village becomes a city-state known simply as Town. The inhabitants are divided into three classes: Citizens; L2s, who possess visas and are on a path to citizenship; and outcasts dubbed “Saha” for the run-down apartment complex they live at, Saha Estates. The Saha work menial jobs and live in substandard conditions, and they’re scapegoated in the media for all of Town’s problems. Su, a doctor, treats the Saha and then moves in with Do-Kyung, a Saha who becomes a portrait painter at her encouragement. Woomi, a Saha child born during a pandemic, is experimented on by doctors. Yonhwa, an L2, leaves an abusive marriage of convenience with a citizen to live with the Saha. All the while, mysterious custodians, whose salaries are paid by the Saha, watch over them. In one chilling scene, the cops come to the Saha complex looking for someone to blame for arson. Though the big picture remains elusive, Cho’s close-ups consistently captivate, and the author has an easy hand capturing her characters’ spirit. Fans of Squid Game will be drawn to the author’s grim vision. Agent: Markus Hoffman, Regal, Hoffmann & Assoc.
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