Author: JM Lee
Translated by: Brother Anthony of Taizé
Publisher: Amazon Crossing, 2022
Original title: 부서진 여름, 2021
Link to online store *
A death, a lie, a secret. For twenty-six summers he didn’t have the courage to face the past.
Lee Hanjo is an artist at the peak of his fame, envied and celebrated. Then, on his forty-third birthday, he awakens to find that his devoted wife has disappeared, leaving behind a soon-to-be-published novel she’d secretly written about the sordid past and questionable morality of an artist with a trajectory similar to Hanjo’s. It’s clear to him that his life is about to shatter and the demons from his past will come out. But why did his wife do it? Why now?
The book forces Hanjo to reflect on a summer from his youth when a deadly lie irreversibly and tragically determined the fates of two families.
From master storyteller J. M. Lee, one of Korea’s most renowned authors, comes an unforgettable novel of hidden truths, denials, and their inevitable repercussions. Everyone still left standing from that terrible summer so long ago must finally reckon with the deceptions that started it all and, twist after shocking twist, reap both the suffering and the vindication that comes with revenge.
Source: Amazon
LKL says:
You’ll find echoes of Oldboy, The Truth Beneath, Lemon, Seven Years of Darkness, but this novel is still original and a great holiday read.
Read a review in Asian Review of Books
LKL rating: 
. Read our review of this book here.
Read a review by Tony Malone here.
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