- Overview
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This story contains the esssence of Sung Suk-je’s literary works.
- Book Intro
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A man is standing on a bridge over Han River. It seems as though he is about to fall off the bridge. He is invisible to everyone. Another invisible man crossing the bridge and recognizes the man. His name is Kim Mansu. But how and why did he become this invisible man? This novel goes back in time and tells readers about the invisible man's life story, from birth to the present day.
Kim Mansu was born as a fourth child with two brothers and three sisters in a remote village in Gaeun-ri. He had extraordinarily long arms and legs, a slender body that contrasted with his large head, and an unattractive appearance with big and protruding teeth. He was born weak and was slow in learning a language and understanding things. He was a nice boy, albeit a bit naive. This story has a unique structure in which the boy's acquaintances, including his family members, friends, and colleagues, serve as narrators and recall memories about him. The different perspectives and memories about the boy and the pieces of episodes they remember each constitute a short story and then create a large, three-dimensional picture on him and his life. What kind of life each of the characters have lived is also vividly depicted along with the flow of time for decades. The time gap between each scene not only allows readers to stretch their imaginations but also shows the flow of time in a natural way. This exquisite storyline shows one of Sung’s unique skills as a storyteller.
- About the Author
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Sung Suk-je
Sung Suk-je started his career as a writer in 1994 with his collection of stories The Place Where the Guardians Live. Story collections Sung has created include The Last 4.5 Seconds of my Life, The Jo Dongkwan Biography, I Saw a Tiger and Hwang Mangeun Said. Collections of short stories Sung has written include Fun Life and The Shiny Moment. Novels Sung has written include Finding the King, Beautiful Days and The Strength of Men. Sung has won various awards, including the Hankook Ilbo Literary Award, Dongseo Literary Award, Lee Hyosuk Literary Award, Dongin Literary Award, Hyundai LIterary Award, and Oh Yeongsoo Literary Award.
- Award
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Busan Ilbo, 2015, Yosan Kim Jeonghwan Literary Award
Gunsan city, 2015, Chae Mansik Literary Award