8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster

Description

Slave. Escape-Artist. Murderer. Terrorist. Spy. Lover. Mother. Trickster. Ms Mook made you want to listen to her, but I wasn't sure what to believe. She said she would turn 'one hundred the day after tomorrow', yet she looked at most eighty-seven. She said she'd been a slave, a spy, a murderer and more, but were these just the fantasies of an old woman, eager to fill her obituary with colourful stories? This wildly original and vibrant novel tells stories of captivity, friendship, assumed identities and spying. Moving from a nursing home in contemporary South Korea to WWII Indonesia, Seoul in the Korean war and cold-war North Korea, the threads of these tales are slowly entwined until they reveal one bigger story: that of the turbulent recent history of Korea as experienced by one remarkable - but unreliable - woman. As playful and thought-provoking as it is compelling, as brutal and harrowing as it is achingly poignant and tender, this is a novel about love and war, deceit and betrayal, about identity, storytelling and the trickery required for survival.

Mirinae Lee was born and raised in South Korea. Her first work of fiction appeared in the Antioch Review and was listed as Notable Nonrequired Reading of 2018 in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019. Her second short story won the 2018 Editors' Prize in Fiction and appeared in Meridian. Mirinae has a BA in English Literature from Columbia University and an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Hong Kong, where she received the Esther MK Cheung Memorial Prize. This is her debut novel.

A wild ride of a novel that embodies twentieth-century Korean history through the mesmerising, heartbreaking and deeply fractured personal history of one woman and her many incarnations. -- Monica Ali A dazzling, visceral read. Intricately woven and playful, the prose has a brutal beating energy. At its heart is the fascinating Ms Mook, and the kaleidoscope of her life is a captivating history of Korea, a country torn apart -- Catherine Cho, author of Inferno Unflinching and tender, philosophical and mischievous, this playful novel conveys a sense of Korea's turbulent twentieth century through a charming, compelling protagonist who is not always a reliable narrator but who tells the truths that matter. I was captivated by Lee's masterful storytelling -- Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring Fantastically original doesn't begin to describe this exhilarating, globe-spanning, decade-hopping masterpiece. Lee has achieved the impossible - from a fractured century of agonies and betrayals, she has woven a novel of immense beauty and regeneration -- Junot Diaz A stunning debut from Mirinae Lee, 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster follows the incredible life of a woman, a shapeshifter, as she battles life near the North Korean border during the most turbulent times in Korean history. Lee is a master at storytelling, weaving the eight stories in a way that leaves you with questions, only to answer them with scenes that are sometimes horrific, sometimes touching, but always riveting -- Lyn Liao Butler, author of Red Thread of Fate Mirinae Lee has magically created a new literary form, one that deftly weaves political intrigue, lyrical narration, sensuous description, and subtle humour. In her heroine's tender, harrowing reclaiming of her traumatized body, the reader, too, finds healing. 8 Lives packs the spellbinding, page-turning punch of a spy thriller while quietly delivering the lilting insights of Carmen Maria Machado and Ocean Vuong. Lee's debut marks the arrival of a riveting new voice on the global literary stage -- Brittani Sonnenberg, author of Home Leave Mirinae Lee has created an unforgettable character and a bold, inventive narrative that takes us through history. But don't underestimate 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster; this astonishing, compassionate, and ambitious novel is more than story. Lee cares about how the story is told as much as the story itself. What an incredible debut. * Krys Lee, author of How I Became A North Korean * A turbulent novel traversing decades of Korean history, 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster interrogates love, identity, betrayal, and everything it takes for one shape-shifting "trickster" to survive. Lee writes with sharp, ferocious energy, and I was riveted from the first page. An exquisitely accomplished debut -- Mira T. Lee, author of Everything Here is Beautiful Chilling, bold and masterful, Lee's dazzling debut slams into the head and the heart with dizzying, visceral force and commanding skill. Intricately and inventively plotted, 8 Lives of a Century-old Trickster is hard-wired with tension and suspense and bound tight with history -- Kimberly Elkins Reading 8 Lives is like eating earth: unapologetically rebellious, breathtakingly exhilarating, and deeply painful. Korea's turbulent modern history as its backdrop, each story is artfully told through a magnetic character who embodies the peninsula's dark and complex past. Lee's debut is a gift to all storytellers of diasporic imagination -- Joseph Juhn, director of Chosen Mirinae Lee has magically created a new literary form, one that deftly weaves political intrigue, lyrical narration, sensuous description, and subtle humour. In her heroine's tender, harrowing reclaiming of her traumatized body, the reader, too, finds healing. 8 Lives packs the spellbinding, page-turning punch of a spy thriller while quietly delivering the lilting insights of Carmen Maria Machado and Ocean Vuong. Lee's debut marks the arrival of a riveting new voice on the global literary stage -- Brittani Sonnenberg, author of Home Leave