The Reverse Side of Life
By Lee Seung-u
1996
First Published
4.00
Average Rating
254
Number of Pages
An extraordinary, highly acclaimed novel from Korea, revealing how the conflict of the secular and the divine manifests in the real world. Bak Bugil's father is a genius. Everyone in the village expects him to pass the civil service examination and become a judge, but he hasn't been seen since he left to study in Seoul. Bak lives with his mother and his father's relations. At the end of a path that leads to the rear of their house is a persimmon tree and an old ramshackle hut. Children are forbidden by grownups to go near the tree, but Bak makes repeated incursions to collect the forbidden fruit. Finally, an encounter with the inhabitant of the hut changes his life forever. Decades later, a journalist (the narrator) is asked to write an article about one of South Korea's most unique writers, Bak Bugil. Initially reluctant, the journalist begins to develop a curiosity about Bak's past. Upon meeting Bak, it becomes clear that he finds childhood recollection painful and difficult, but the journalist knows that that if he is to write a single word about Bak it will be impossible without unearthing that history. Dealing with childhood shame, abandonment, rebellion, first love, and religious experimentation, this extraordinary novel cemented its author's reputation as one of the stars of South Korea's literary scene.
Avg Rating
4.00
Number of Ratings
79
5 STARS
35%
4 STARS
37%
3 STARS
22%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads
Author
Lee Seung-u
Author · 3 books
소설가 이승우 1959년 전남 장흥에서 태어나 서울신학대학교를 졸업하였고, 연세대학교 연합신학대학원에서 공부하였다. 1981년 '한국문학' 신인상에 '에리직톤의 초상'이 당선되어 등단하였으며, 소설집 '구평목 씨의 바퀴벌레', '일식에 대하여', '미궁에 대한 추측', '목련공원', '사람들은 자기 집에 무엇이 있는지도 모른다', '나는 아주 오래 살 것이다', '심인 광고'와 장편소설 '에리직톤의 초상', '가시나무 그늘', '생의 이면', '내 안에 또 누가 있나', '사랑의 전설', '태초에 유혹이 있었다', '식물들의 사생활', '그곳이 어디든', '한낮의 시선', '지상의 노래' 등이 있다. 1993년 '생의 이면'으로 제 1회 대산문학상, 2002년 '나는 아주 오래 살 것이다'로 제 15회 동서문학상, 2007년 '전기수 이야기'로 제 52회 현대문학상, 2010년 '칼'로 제 10회 황순원문학상 수상.
