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Tower

Author:
Translated by:
Publisher: , 2021
Original title: 타워, 2009
Link to online store *

Tower is a series of interconnected stories set in Beanstalk, a 674-story skyscraper and sovereign nation. Each story deals with how citizens living in the hypermodern high-rise deal with various influences of power in their lives: a group of researchers have to tell their boss that a major powerbroker is a dog, a woman uses the power of the internet to rescue a downed fighter pilot abandoned by the government, and an out-of-towner finds himself in charge of training a gentle elephant to break up protests. Bae explores the forces that shape modern life with wit and a sly wink at the reader.

LKL says:

This is altogether a fun and thought-provoking collection. Sung Ryu’s translation flows naturally, and Bae Myung-hoon’s veritable torrent of ideas provide great entertainment. Full marks to Honford Star, and to the artist Choi Jisu for the stunning cover.

LKL rating: score-2score-2score-2score-2score-1. Read our review of this book here.

Read a review by Tony Malone here.

* 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.