The acclaimed South Korean author explores two worlds, four stories, and infinite possibilities in this “breath-taking” speculative fiction collection (Bong Joon-ho, Oscar–winning director of Parasite).
Available in English for the first time, this volume presents two pairs of thematically interconnected stories by celebrated writer Kim Bo-Young. 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, one thing is constant: the desire of the lovers to be together.
In “The Prophet of Corruption” and “That One Life,” humanity is viewed through the eyes of its godlike creators for whom everything on Earth is an extension of their will. When one of them questions 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 wrong. 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 considers the most basic of questions: who am I?