Kong's Garden

Imagine Cormac McCarthy writing about the boring lives of clerks and you'll anticipate something of the dystopic flavour of this gripping but socially bleak short story from Hwang. In a Korean world in which education has historically meant everything, the narrator realizes both that this is not true (through her partner in an essentially loveless affair) and that the recognition of this fact does not surprise her at all. The narrator is drawn into a larger story when she refuses to sell cigarettes to Jinju, a young woman in the company of two men who subsequently goes missing. New from Strangers Press, the people who brought you Keshiki, comes their next exciting global collaboration Yeoyu new writing from Korea, a series of eight exquisitely designed chapbooks showcasing some of the best writers writing in Korean today, translated by a team of hugely talented expert translators from across the globe. The series features work from famous names such as Han Kang alongside relative newcomers to an English audience and was selected in collaboration with translation trailblazer and Man Booker International Prize winner, Deborah Smith.