Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Cho Nam-Joo
(Author)
Jamie Chang
(Translator)
Description
One of the most notable novels of the year, hailed by both critics and K-pop stars alike, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 follows one woman's psychic deterioration in the face of rampant misogyny. In a tidy apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, millennial "everywoman" Kim Jiyoung spends her days caring for her infant daughter. But strange symptoms appear: Jiyoung begins to impersonate the voices of other women, dead and alive. As she plunges deeper into this psychosis, her concerned husband sends her to a psychiatrist. Jiyoung narrates her story to this doctor--from her birth to parents who expected a son to elementary school teachers who policed girls' outfits to male coworkers who installed hidden cameras in women's restrooms. But can her psychiatrist cure her, or even discover what truly ails her? "A social treatise as well as a work of art" (Alexandra Alter, New York Times), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 heralds the arrival of international powerhouse Cho Nam-Joo.
Product Details
Price
$14.95
$13.90
Publisher
Liveright Publishing Corporation
Publish Date
March 02, 2021
Pages
176
Dimensions
5.7 X 8.4 X 0.5 inches | 0.32 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781631498671
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About the Author
Cho Nam-joo was a television scriptwriter for nine years. She is the author of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, longlisted for the National Book Award for Translation, and most recently, Saha.
Jamie Chang is an award-winning translator who teaches at the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.
Reviews
Cho Nam-Joo points to a universal dialogue around discrimination, hopelessness, and fear.--Annabel Gutterman, TIME
In this fine--and beautifully translated--biography of a fictional Korean woman we encounter the real experiences of many women around the world.--Claire Kohda Hazelton, The Spectator
Cho deploys a formal, almost clinical prose style that subtly but effectively reinforces the challenges Korean women like Jiyoung endure throughout their lives in multiple contexts--familial, educational, and work-related. . . . Kim Jiyoung effectively communicates the realities Korean women face, especially discrimination in the workplace, rampant sexual harassment, and the nearly impossible challenge of balancing motherhood with career aspirations.--Faye Chadwell, Library Journal
Following the life of the titular character from her mother's generation through her own childhood, young adulthood, career, marriage and eventual 'breakdown, ' the book moves around in time to subtly uncover how patriarchy eats away at the psyches and bodies of women, starting before they're even born.--Sarah Neilson, Seattle Times
I loved this novel. Kim Jiyoung's life is made to seem at once totally commonplace and nightmarishly over-the-top. As you read, you constantly feel that revolutionary, electric shift between commonplace and nightmarish. This kind of imaginative work is so important and so powerful.--Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot
This is a book about the life of a woman living in Korea; the despair of an ordinary woman, which she takes for granted. The fact that it's not about 'someone special' is extremely shocking, while also being incredibly relatable.--Sayaka Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman, in Yomiuri Shimbun
Already an international best-seller, television scriptwriter Cho's debut novel has been credited with helping to 'launch Korea's new feminist movement.' The fact that gender inequity is insidiously pervasive throughout the world will guarantee that this tale has immediate resonance, and its smoothly accessible, albeit British English vernacular-inclined, translation by award-winning translator Chang will ensure appreciative Anglophone audiences. Cho's narrative is part bildungsroman and part Wikipedia entry (complete with statistics-heavy footnotes).... Cho's matter-of-fact delivery underscores the pervasive gender imbalance, while just containing the empathic rage. Her final chapter, "2016," written as Jiyoung's therapist's report--his claims of being "aware" and "enlightened" only damning him further as an entitled troll--proves to be narrative genius.--Terry Hong, Booklist [starred review]
Chilling.--Rebecca Deczynski - Domino
The book's strength lies in how succinctly Cho captures the relentless buildup of sexism and gender discrimination over the course of one woman's life. . . The story perfectly captures misogynies large and small that will be recognizable to many.--Kirkus Reviews
[A] spirited debut . . . [T]he brutal, bleak conclusion demonstrates Cho's mastery of irony. This will stir readers to consider the myriad factors that diminish women's rights throughout the world.--Publishers Weekly
In this fine--and beautifully translated--biography of a fictional Korean woman we encounter the real experiences of many women around the world.--Claire Kohda Hazelton, The Spectator
Cho deploys a formal, almost clinical prose style that subtly but effectively reinforces the challenges Korean women like Jiyoung endure throughout their lives in multiple contexts--familial, educational, and work-related. . . . Kim Jiyoung effectively communicates the realities Korean women face, especially discrimination in the workplace, rampant sexual harassment, and the nearly impossible challenge of balancing motherhood with career aspirations.--Faye Chadwell, Library Journal
Following the life of the titular character from her mother's generation through her own childhood, young adulthood, career, marriage and eventual 'breakdown, ' the book moves around in time to subtly uncover how patriarchy eats away at the psyches and bodies of women, starting before they're even born.--Sarah Neilson, Seattle Times
I loved this novel. Kim Jiyoung's life is made to seem at once totally commonplace and nightmarishly over-the-top. As you read, you constantly feel that revolutionary, electric shift between commonplace and nightmarish. This kind of imaginative work is so important and so powerful.--Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot
This is a book about the life of a woman living in Korea; the despair of an ordinary woman, which she takes for granted. The fact that it's not about 'someone special' is extremely shocking, while also being incredibly relatable.--Sayaka Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman, in Yomiuri Shimbun
Already an international best-seller, television scriptwriter Cho's debut novel has been credited with helping to 'launch Korea's new feminist movement.' The fact that gender inequity is insidiously pervasive throughout the world will guarantee that this tale has immediate resonance, and its smoothly accessible, albeit British English vernacular-inclined, translation by award-winning translator Chang will ensure appreciative Anglophone audiences. Cho's narrative is part bildungsroman and part Wikipedia entry (complete with statistics-heavy footnotes).... Cho's matter-of-fact delivery underscores the pervasive gender imbalance, while just containing the empathic rage. Her final chapter, "2016," written as Jiyoung's therapist's report--his claims of being "aware" and "enlightened" only damning him further as an entitled troll--proves to be narrative genius.--Terry Hong, Booklist [starred review]
Chilling.--Rebecca Deczynski - Domino
The book's strength lies in how succinctly Cho captures the relentless buildup of sexism and gender discrimination over the course of one woman's life. . . The story perfectly captures misogynies large and small that will be recognizable to many.--Kirkus Reviews
[A] spirited debut . . . [T]he brutal, bleak conclusion demonstrates Cho's mastery of irony. This will stir readers to consider the myriad factors that diminish women's rights throughout the world.--Publishers Weekly
