Sublimation | London Korean Links

Author: Isabel J Kim
Publisher: Picador, expected Jul 2026
Link to online store *

When you emigrate, you leave a version of yourself behind. Literally. One instance crosses the border; the other instance stays trapped behind it.

Some instances keep in touch, call each other daily, synchronize their lives and minds in the hopes of reintegrating and resuming a life as one person. Other instances, like Soyoung Rose Kang, leave home at age ten and never speak to their other selves again.

With a life of her own in New York, Rose never imagined she’d return to Korea. Then her grandfather dies and Soyoung, her Korean instance, summons her home for the funeral. But Soyoung’s motives aren’t as innocent as Rose imagined, and the consequences of Rose’s return to Seoul will change her forever.

Sublimation is a story of doppelgängers and corporate intrigue, heartbreak and betrayal. Nebula Award-winning author Isabel J. Kim has written an immigrant tale like no other, capturing the longing for another life and twisting it into a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.

Source: publisher’s website

External links:

Entry on Goodreads.com.

* 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.