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On the Eve of Goodbye

Author:
Translated by:
Publisher: , expected Jan 2027
Original title: 작별 곁에서, 2023
Link to online store *

On the Eve of Goodbye is an unforgettable novel from one of Korea’s most loved authors, weaving together the lives of three artists to explore creativity and human connection. Set against key moments in history – the assassination of Park Chung Hee, Korean American immigration, a Korean artist’s life in Germany, and the global pandemic – the novel unfolds in three parts.

In Time Under Seal, an older Korean American woman is sitting in her New Jersey home during Hurricane Sandy, her electricity and water cut off. She lights candles against the dark and recounts the events of her life in a letter to a younger Korean artist in New York. In What the Boat Carries, the River Does Not Know, this younger artist – now a writer – pens a letter to a dying friend, a poet and archaeologist. Finally, in On the Eve of Goodbye, eight years later, the younger artist finally writes back to the author of the first letter, connecting past and present in a poignant exploration of time, memory and the creative process.

Source: Amazon

External links:

* Where the book is available from a number of sources, they are prioritised as follows: (1) Amazon UK site, or Bookshop.org for the more recent uploads (2) Amazon US site (3) Other sites in US or Europe, including second-hand outlets (4) LTI Korea, where the title is advertised as available from there (5) Onlines stores in Korea. Links to Bookshop.org and Amazon UK site contain an affiliate code which, should you make a purchase, gives a small commission to LKL at no additional cost to you.