Winter in Sokcho is a contemplative and character-driven novel set in a town near the North Korean border. The story follows a French Korean narrator working as a receptionist at a guest house where she forms a complex relationship with a graphic artist named Kerrand. The writing style is described as sparse yet engaging, focusing on the subtleties of human emotions and interactions rather than a traditional plot-driven narrative. The book delves into themes of culture, classism, and personal struggles, all set against the backdrop of a bleak winter in Sokcho.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book contains content warnings for mental health issues (eating disorders), body image topics, and emotional abuse, particularly related to familial expectations.
Has Romance?
There is a medium presence of romance, primarily between the narrator and the artist Kerrand, though it remains ambiguous and is not overtly stated.
From The Publisher:
As if Marguerite Duras wrote Convenience Store Woman-a beautiful, unexpected novel from a debut French Korean author
It's winter in Sokcho, a tourist town on the border between South and North Korea. The cold slows everything down. Bodies are red and raw, the fish turn venomous, beyond the beach guns point out from the North's watchtowers. A young French Korean woman works as a receptionist in a tired guesthouse. One evening, an unexpected guest arrives: a French cartoonist determined to find inspiration in this desolate landscape.
The two form an uneasy relationship. When she agrees to accompany him on trips to discover an authentic Korea, they visit snowy mountaintops and dramatic waterfalls, and cross into North Korea. But he takes no interest in the Sokcho she knows-the gaudy neon lights, the scars of war, the fish market where her mother works. As she's pulled into his vision and taken in by his drawings, she strikes upon a way to finally be seen.
An exquisitely-crafted debut, which won the Prix Robert Walser, Winter in Sokcho is a novel about shared identities and divided selves, vision and blindness, intimacy and alienation. Elisa Shua Dusapin's voice is distinctive and unmistakable.
Ratings (6)
Liked It (3) | |
It Was OK (1) | |
Did Not Like (2) |
Reader Stats (21):
Read It (6) | |
Want To Read (14) | |
Not Interested (1) |
1 comment(s)
I don’t know what the point of the story was, i mean, i know she met a cool dude that she fell in love with but the story feels really uncompleted. It was really refreshing to read some romance instead of mystery and horror. I really think this could’ve had more potential but it just feels unfinished.
What can you read after
Winter in Sokcho?
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