(English) Snow Globe Drive

[Snow Globe Drive] is a dystopian novel that describes a world ravaged by fake snow. Although it looks just like real snow, fake snow causes various symptoms including itchiness, nausea and fever when it touches skin. Besides, as it doesn't melt away, it has to be collected and burned in an incineration plant. This calamity changes the lives of people. It becomes impossible to go outside without protective clothing and masks. Supplies run low and robbers are on rampage. The novel is set in Baekyeong, a city that becomes a landfill for fake snow. It is alternately narrated by Mo-ru and I-wol, who went to Baekyeong Middle School together but follow separate paths after the graduation as Mo-ru stays in the same city while I-wol moves to another one. However, a series of events lead them to meet in the incineration plant in Baekyeong.

The first sign appears when Mo-ru is in middle school. Although it is early summer, white flakes fall down from the sky. At first, students in the schoolyard mistake them as snow, but soon chaos ensues. At that time, it seems to be a one-off event. However, just after she graduates from the middle school, it evolves into full-blown calamity. Baekyeong, the city where Mo-ru lives, is designated as a landfill for special wastes. Those who can leave desert the city, but Mo-ru's family does not have a choice but to remain where they are. A few years later her mother dies and her aunt is the only family member left to her. However, her aunt suddenly disappears. As a truck driver, she was making her last delivery before retirement when something happened and only an empty truck was found. Mo-ru searches for her aunt while working at the city's incineration plant. The only clue left in the truck is a snow globe. Meanwhile, around the same time that her aunt disappears, I-wol gets a job at the plant. Besides, I-wol has brought a snow globe along. Is I-wol related to the disappearance of her aunt?

The first sign appears when Mo-ru is in middle school. Although it is early summer, white flakes fall down from the sky. At first, students in the schoolyard mistake them as snow, but soon chaos ensues. At that time, it seems to be a one-off event. However, just after she graduates from the middle school, it evolves into full-blown calamity. Baekyeong, the city where Mo-ru lives, is designated as a landfill for special wastes. Those who can leave desert the city, but Mo-ru's family does not have a choice but to remain where they are. A few years later her mother dies and her aunt is the only family member left to her. However, her aunt suddenly disappears. As a truck driver, she was making her last delivery before retirement when something happened and only an empty truck was found. Mo-ru searches for her aunt while working at the city's incineration plant. The only clue left in the truck is a snow globe. Meanwhile, around the same time that her aunt disappears, I-wol gets a job at the plant. Besides, I-wol has brought a snow globe along. Is I-wol related to the disappearance of her aunt?

『스노볼 드라이브』는 피부에 닿자마자 발진을 일으키고 태우지 않으면 녹지 않는 ‘방부제 눈’이 내리는 재난의 시기를 배경으로, 10대의 절반이 눈 아래 묻힌 채 성인이 되어 버린 두 인물의 시간들을 애틋하고도 경쾌하게 그려 낸 조예은표 디스토피아 소설이다. 소설가 조예은은 전작 『뉴서울파크 젤리장수 대학살』, 『칵테일, 러브, 좀비』를 통해 일상에 침투한 작은 종말의 조짐들을 꾸준히 그려 왔다. 이번 소설에서는 그 무대를 전 세계로 확장해 재앙 후의 일상이라는 길고도 막막한 삶의 아이러니를 한층 치열하게 보여 준다. 다 망해 버리기를 습관처럼 중얼거리던 일상과, 바람대로 세상이 무너져 버린 뒤에야 끝까지 살아남기 위해 노력하는 삶의 아이러니. 전 인류적 재앙이 낯설지 않은 지금이 모루와 이월의 여정을 바로 곁에서 함께할 수 있는 가장 적절한 때일 것이다.