Love in the Big City
A funny, transporting, surprising, and poignant novel that was one of the highest-selling debuts of recent years in Korea, Love in the Big City tells the story of a young gay man searching for happiness in the lonely city of Seoul
Love in the Big City is the English-language debut of Sang Young Park, one of Korea's most exciting young writers. A runaway bestseller, the novel hit the top five lists of all the major bookstores, went into twenty-six printings, and was praised for its unique literary voice and perspective. It is now poised to capture a worldwide readership.
Young is a cynical yet fun-loving Korean student who pinballs from home to class to the beds of recent Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female best friend and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their anxieties about their love lives, families, and money with rounds of soju and ice-cold Marlboro Reds that they keep in their freezer. Yet over time, even Jaehee leaves Young to settle down, leaving him alone to care for his ailing mother and to find companionship in his relationships with a series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness, and another who might end up being the great love of his life.
A brilliantly written novel that takes us
into the glittering nighttime of Seoul and
the bleary-eyed morning after with both
humor and emotion, Love in the Big City
is a wry portrait of millennial loneliness as
well as the abundant joys of queer life.
Author: Sang Young Park
Publisher: Grove Press
Published: 11/16/2021
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780802158789
Award: Man Booker International Prize - Nominee
Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 09/01/2021 pg. 6
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2021
Publishers Weekly 09/20/2021
Booklist 09/15/2021 pg. 18
Shelf Awareness 12/10/2021
About the Author
SANG YOUNG PARK was born in 1988 and studied French literature at Sungkyunkwan University. He worked as a magazine editor, copywriter, and consultant before debuting as a novelist. The title story of his bestselling short story collection, The Tears of an Unknown Artist, or Zaytun Pasta, was one of Words Without Borders's most read pieces ever. He lives in Seoul.
ANTON HUR was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the winner of a PEN Translates grant and a PEN/Heim Translation Fund grant, among many others, and his translations include Kyung-Sook Shin's The Court Dancer and Kang Kyeong-ae's The Underground Village.