Author: Chung Han-ah
Translated by: Stella Kim
Publisher: Asia Publishers, 2023
Original title: 지난밤 내 꿈에, 2022
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A narrative of hurt and repentance through the stories of three generations of women.
In her author’s note, Jung says that she wrote this novel because she wanted to “tell a story about illness, money, and grace”. The novel tells the story of three generations of mothers and daughters, starting with the maternal grandmother, who has a history of Hansen’s disease. The maternal grandmother had abandoned the narrator’s mother, and the mother-daughter relationship was frosty. When the narrator’s mother visits her maternal grandmother after her husband’s domestic violence, she is not welcomed with open arms but is hurt by the harsh words she hears. The three women are unable to reconcile, but as they process the compensation money from their maternal grandmother, they begin to see the weight of each other’s lives.
The film was released in 2022 and has been nominated for several literary awards and was selected for the Shimhoon Literary Award.
- “It embraces modern Korean history without anger and hatred, and maybe even dares to reconcile” (Jang Kang-myung)
- “Crossing the histories of various lives like a stepladder, the tender hearts of the weight of each life are touching.” (Jeon Sung-tae)
- “The power of the female character, an excellent mediator and protagonist, is overwhelming.” (Kang Young-sook)
- “A masterpiece that embodies the never-simple truths of life: hurt and regret.” (Lee Kyung-jae)
Source: Blurb on Kyobo website run through Deepl