바이올렛 Violets (English)

<KR>
원서번역서 내용 엿보기

이십 년의 시간을 넘어 풀잎처럼 되살아난 ‘그녀’들의 목소리

한국문학을 말할 때 결코 빼놓을 수 없는 성취를 이루어낸 작가 신경숙의 네번째 장편소설 『바이올렛』이 영어판 출간과 발맞추어 개정판으로 독자들을 다시 찾아온다. 작가의 소설은 한국을 넘어 전 세계 독자들을 매료시키며 한국문학의 아름다움과 깊이를 알려나가는 중이다. 영어판 『바이올렛』 또한 “마음을 단단히 먹고 읽어야 하는 작품” “미묘하고 깊고 독특한, 진정한 문학작품”, “고립된 젊은 여성을 바라보는 충격적이고 훌륭한 시각”으로 “자신의 욕망을 추구하는 절박함을 능숙하게 포착”한 작품이라는 평을 받으며 영국과 미국에서 출간되었다.

국내에서 2001년 여름 초판 발행된 『바이올렛』은 작가의 대표작 중 하나로, 신경숙 소설 특유의 처연한 슬픔과 은은하게 서린 정염이 어우러지다 끝내 폭발적인 전율을 일으킨다. 소설은 그 제목이 함축하듯 야생화처럼 가녀리지만 끝없는 생명력을 지닌 여성들의 마음속에 감춰진 욕망과 그 주변을 둘러싼 위험을 관통한다. 자기 자신을 있는 힘껏 파괴하는 것 말고는 욕망을 표현할 방법을 부여받지 못해 사그라져야 했던 그들의 목소리에 귀 기울이는 이 작품은 한국 현대 여성소설의 주요한 자산이 되었다.

『바이올렛』 개정판 출간은 그 미약한 존재들의 목소리를 잊지 않고 되살려내려는 신경숙의 소설쓰기와 궤를 같이한다. 이십 년의 시차를 좁히고자 단어와 문장을 살뜰히 손질하고 새로운 표지를 입힌 이 개정판은 세월이 흐른 지금도 여전히 여성들의 일상 속에 자리잡고 있는 폭력의 공고함을 상기시킨다. 그리고 세상에 홀로 버려졌다고 느끼는, 작은 풀꽃처럼 눈에 띄지 않는 존재들에게도 생을 추동하는 고유한 욕망이 있음을 힘주어 말한다.

[ENG]

About the Book

Translated by Anton Hur

'Mesmerising, dreamlike and prescient in its sharpness and attentiveness to the dynamics between women and the male and female gaze' Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti

'Darkly beautiful, VIOLETS explores the toll of abandonment and relentless marginalisation' Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face

'Violets lavishes attention on the kind of person who often slips through the cracks, unseen or ignored. There is a beauty and a bravery in speaking for small lives' Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like You

'Has a way of seeing past the smooth surface of societal appearance and into the fragile, obscure psychological space that lies just beneath' Alexandra Kleenman, author of Something New Under the Sun

'An intimate portrait of isolation and unspoken desire. Darkly poetic, dreamlike and meditative' Adelle Stripe, author of Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile

South Korea, 1970.

San is a lonely child, ostracised from her community. She soon finds a friend in a girl called Namae, until one afternoon changes everything. Following a moment of intimacy in a minari field, Namae violently rejects San, setting her on a troubling path.

We next meet San, aged twenty-two, when she happens upon a job at a flower shop in Seoul's bustling city centre. Over the course of one hazy, volatile summer, San is introduced to a curious cast of characters - the mute shop owner, a brash co-worker, kind farmers and aggressive customers - and fuelled by a quiet desperation to jump-start her life, she plunges headfirst into obsession with a passing magazine photographer. Throughout it all, San's moment with Namae continues to linger in the back of her mind.

A story of thwarted desire, misogyny and erasure, Violets reveals the high stakes involved in one woman's desperate search for both autonomy and attachment in an unforgiving society.


<FR>
À propos du livre

Traduit par Anton Hur

"Méritant, rêveur et prédictif dans sa netteté et son attention à la dynamique entre les femmes et le regard des hommes et des femmes" Sharlene Teo, auteur de Ponti

"Très belle, VIOLETS explore le bilan de l'abandon et de la marginalisation implacable" Frances Cha, auteur de If I Had Your Face

Les violettes attirent l'attention sur le genre de personne qui glisse souvent entre les mailles du filet, invisible ou ignorée. Il y a une beauté et un courage à parler au nom de Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, auteur d'Inoffensive Like You

"A une façon de voir au-delà de la surface lisse de l'apparence sociétale et dans l'espace psychologique fragile et obscur qui se trouve juste en dessous" Alexandra Kleenman, auteur de Quelque chose de nouveau sous le soleil

Un portrait intime d'isolement et de désir tacite. Sombrement poétique, rêvée et méditative ' Adelle Stripe, auteur de Black Dents and a Brillante Smile

Corée du Sud, 1970.

San est une enfant solitaire, exclue de sa communauté. Elle trouve bientôt une amie chez une fille appelée Namae, jusqu'à ce qu'un après-midi change tout. Après un moment d'intimité dans un champ minari, Namae rejette violemment San, la mettant sur un chemin troublant.

Nous rencontrons ensuite San, âgée de vingt-deux ans, lorsqu'elle travaille dans un magasin de fleurs du centre-ville animé de Séoul. Au cours d'un été brumeux et instable, San se présente à un curieux casting de personnages - la propriétaire d'un magasin muet, une collègue de travail, des fermiers gentils et des clients agressifs - et elle plonge tête baissée dans l'obsession d'un photographe de magazine. Tout au long de tout ça, le moment de San avec Namae continue de s'attarder au fond de son esprit.

Une histoire de désir déjoué, de misogynie et d'effacement, Violet révèle les enjeux élevés de la recherche désespérée d'une femme à la fois d'autonomie et d'attachement dans une société impitoyable.

Publisher book reviews

Violets is a novel built on the proximity of beauty and violence . . . Shin finds indirect and nuanced ways to conjure the atmosphere of a place where flourishing is thwarted at every turn . . . There's a timeless, fable-like quality to the narration that makes the story strange and gripping. -- Lara Feigel ― Guardian

Mesmerising, dreamlike and prescient in its sharpness and attentiveness to the dynamics between women and the male and female gaze. VIOLETS feelsutterly contemporary and recalls the work of Mariana Enriquez and Dorthe Nors -- Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti

Darkly beautiful, Violets explores the toll of abandonment and the relentless marginalization of a helpless young woman. The protagonist, San, shivers with insecurity and loneliness but still dares, briefly, to dream of friendship and a normal life. Shin writes of the cruelty and dangers of disempowerment, and an ensuing spiral of despair -- Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face

Violets lavishes attention on the kind of person who often slips through the cracks, unseen or ignored. There is a beauty and a bravery in speaking for small lives -- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, author of Harmless Like You

Kyung-sook Shin has a way of seeing past the smooth surface of societal appearance and into the fragile, obscure psychological space that lies just beneath, where her characters ache in ways that feel both recognizable and possessed of deep insight. I don't know if I've ever read a book that so masterfully captures the subtle desperation of seeking a desire that can be your own in a fast-changing world -- Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun

An intimate portrait of isolation and unspoken desire. Darkly poetic, dreamlike and meditative, Kyung-Sook Shin's spellbinding tale captures the invisible life and longing of a country girl trapped in a rapidly changing city -- Adelle Stripe, author of Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile

As a beautiful window on San's world Violets is like a perfectly detailed painting, but it also tells the heart-rending story of a hurt child growing up as a lonely outsider. For me now, with her tragedy so well-realised, Violets will stay with me, and those flowers will always make me think of her -- Vashti Bunyan

Shin Kyung Sook tells us a story which takes place both in a foreign land and in a very familiar space in our hearts. Human beings' everlasting agony of "longing to belong" presents itself in every page of this book with intensity and with beauty. A subtle, deep, unique work of true literature -- Defne Suman, author of The Silence of Scheherazade

Violets is a moving delve into a lonely psyche, with writing raw and sophisticated, tenderhearted and clear-eyed. Vividly translated by Anton Hur, Shin Kyung-sook's novel is also an intimate, sideways portrait of Seoul through the eyes of a rural outsider who roams the bright lights and big city not in pursuit of ambitious dreams, but seeking care and human touch -- YZ Chin, author of Edge Case

Violets is an aching, atmospheric novel about grief and longing. Oh San, our main character, navigates a life of haunting loneliness and yet she finds tender moments of true beauty. In this slim and powerful book, Kyung-Sook Shin deftly explores the violence of life - of shedding childhood, of becoming a woman, of searching for identity in a shifting world. A beautiful translation by Anton Hur. Go read this book! -- Crystal Hana Kim, author of If you Leave Me

The beauty of Kyung-sook Shin's prose is in its expert weave of immersion, precision and surprise. The narrative ground of San, our unlikely but necessary heroine, may be fraught with unseen tensions yet the writing is as smooth as a finished surface. Despite being consistently tyrannized and quieted by her surroundings, San carries within her an indefatigable fire, a persistence to be. San represents so many women whose stories are never told -- Weike Wang, author of Chemistry

Shin is known for revealing the ways in which her culture oppresses and isolates people - especially women ― Kirkus

[Anton] Hur, who made his translated-novel debut with Shin's The Court Dancer (2018) and became an award-winning Korean-to-English powerhouse, returns to adroitly cipher her latest impressive import. With this trigger-warning-worthy tale, Man Asian Literary Prize-winning Shin delivers another meticulous, haunting characterization of an isolated young woman in crisis ― Booklist (starred)

'A disturbing and evocative look at an isolated young woman . . . With sensuous prose intuitively translated by [Anton] Hur, Shin vividly captures San's tragic failure to connect with others. This is hard to put down' ― Publishers Weekly

A formidable text on urban loneliness, suppressed queer desire and a haunting observation of the rapidly-changing country at the turn of the century. Originally written in 2001, this soon-to-be-released translation is a tragic yet moving work of fiction from one of Korea's finest writers that should be on your spring-summer reading list. ― Vogue India

Reading Kyung-Sook Shin's Violets is a dreamlike experience. Translated lyrically by Anton Hur, it evokes the curious, detached sensation of moving-nearly floating-through a world that, despite its different logic, is grounded and punctuated with precise, vivid details, almost overwhelming in sudden close-up . . . a shimmering text that blends stark violence with delicate, considered language, preserving, with tender attention, a woman rejected and erased by society. ― Asymptote

A raw coming-of-age novel ― Bustle