The meeting between a group of emigrants and a mysterious, wandering actress in an empty train station sets the stage for Bae Suah's fragmentary yet lyrical meditation on language, travel, and memory. As the actress recounts the fascinating story of her stateless existence, an unreliable narrator and the interruptions of her audience challenge traditional notions of storytelling and identity.

First English-language story collection from one of Korea's most exciting young writers.

The acclaimed Korean author weaves a "disturbing, beautifully controlled" metaphysical detective story "of doubles, shadows, and parallel worlds" ( Financial Times).It's Ayami's final day working the box-office at Seoul's only audio theater for the blind. Her last shift completed, she walks the streets with her former boss, searching for a missing friend. Their conversations take in art, love, food, and the inaccessible country to the north.The next ...

A heart-wrenching novel of the two love affairs a young Korean writer experiences while living in Germany.

This cozy Korean bestseller invites readers into a warm, sunlit pottery studio where a burned-out young TV broadcast writer begins to heal, working the clay, piece by piece, season by season.After breaking down at the office and abruptly quitting her job, thirty-year-old Jungmin holes up in her apartment, speaking to no one for days on end. When she finally emerges, she stumbles upon a pottery studio in her neighborhood and is invited in by the mysterious workshop ...

From acclaimed Japanese author Sanaka Hiigari comes a heartwarming, life-affirming novel about a magical photo studio, where people go after they die to view key moments from their life—and relive one precious memory before they pass into the afterlife.The hands and pendulum of the old wooden clock on the wall were motionless. Hirasaka cocked his head to listen, but the silence inside the photo studio was almost deafening. His leather shoes san...

From the bestselling author of Almond, The Devil Wears Prada meets The Office in this witty, humane, and ultimately transformative story of a group of young workers who rebel against the status quo.Jihye is an ordinary woman who has never been extraordinary. In her administrative job at the Academy, she silently tolerates office politics and the absurdities of Korean bureaucracy. Forever only one misplaced email away from career catastrop...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Translated from the Japanese bestseller, a charming and magical novel that reminds us it’s never too late to follow our stars.“Mochizuki dazzles in her beautifully crafted contemporary fantasy debut. . . . This gentle fantasy is not to be missed.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review (Best Books of the Year)In Japan, cats are a symbol of good luck. As the myth goes, if you are kind to them, they’ll one day return...

A "mesmerizing" novel of a love triangle and a mysterious disappearance in South Korea ( Booklist).In the fast-paced, high-urban landscape of Seoul, C and K are brothers who have fallen in love with the same beguiling drifter, Se-yeon, who gives herself freely to both of them. Then, just as they are trying desperately to forge a connection in an alienated world, Se-yeon suddenly disappears. All the while, a spectral, calculating narrator haunts the edges of...

“Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!” —Kirkus Reviews“Whimsical and wise.”—Shelf AwarenessThe long-awaited sequel to the #1 international bestseller The Cat Who Saved Books—an uplifting tale from Japan about a talking cat, a book-loving girl and the power of books to make a difference in the world.A chronic asthma condition prevents thirteen-year-old Na...

"Gate to Kagoshima is an action-packed adventure that opens in Scotland and makes its way to Kagoshima, Japan, as our heroine flees the ghosts of relationships past only to find new loves―and new heartbreak. Set at the close of the Samurai era, the story blends Outlander by way of Before the Coffee Gets Cold."—Marie Claire"A terrific ‘what if’ time-travel novel with an intriguing historical element, epic battles, and a da...

A glittering, bold, darkly funny novel about two sisters—one in New York, one in Singapore—who are bound by an ancient secretSisterhood is difficult for Su and Emerald. Su leads a sheltered, moneyed life as the picture-perfect wife of a conservative politician in Singapore. Emerald is a nihilistic sugar baby in New York, living from whim to whim and using her charms to make ends meet. But they share a secret: once, they were snakes, basking under a full moon in Tan...