{"product_id":"8-lives-of-a-centuryold-trickster-9780349016740","title":"8 Lives of a CenturyOld Trickster","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Captivating'' \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Dazzling'' \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A cracking good read'' \u003ci\u003eHistorical Novel Society\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eSLAVE. ESCAPE-ARTIST. MURDERER. TERRORIST. SPY. LOVER. MOTHER. \u003ci\u003eTRICKSTER\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the Golden Sunset retirement home, it is not unusual for residents to invent stories. So when elderly Ms Mook first begins to unspool her memories, the obituarist listening to her is sceptical. Stories of captivity, friendship, murder, assumed identities and spying. A life that moves from WWII Indonesia to Busan during the Korean war; from cold-war Pyongyang to a Protestant church in China. The adventures are so colourful and various, at times so unbelievable. Surely they can''t all belong to the same woman. Can they?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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, decei\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEnthralling, captivating, tantalising \u003c\/b\u003e... keeps readers hooked * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eA gripping story set against the backdrop of Korea's turbulent history ... \u003cb\u003ebrilliant and original\u003c\/b\u003e * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003eSeven accounts, told achronologically and ranging from 1938 to 2006, reveal a series of startling transformations involving \u003cb\u003ecross-dressing, spying, identity theft, motherhood and murder\u003c\/b\u003e ... \u003cb\u003eA dazzling feat of narrative sophistication and historical invention\u003c\/b\u003e * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA wild ride of a novel\u003c\/b\u003e that embodies twentieth-century Korean history through the \u003cb\u003emesmerising, heartbreaking \u003c\/b\u003eand deeply fractured personal history of one woman and her many incarnations. -- Monica Ali\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003edazzling, visceral \u003c\/b\u003eread. \u003cb\u003eIntricately woven and playful, the prose has a brutal beating energy.\u003c\/b\u003e At its heart is the fascinating Ms Mook, and the kaleidoscope of her life is \u003cb\u003ea captivating history of Korea, a country torn apart\u003c\/b\u003e -- Catherine Cho, author of Inferno\u003cbr\u003eIn Mirinae Lee's \u003ci\u003e8-lives of a Century-Old Trickster, \u003c\/i\u003ea sly, flinty protagonist summons all of her charm to survive one hundred years of tumult, espionage, and war. \u003cb\u003eI have never put so much trust in a verified liar. Part spy novel, part ode to storytelling, Lee's debut captivated and surprised me.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Alyssa Songsiridej, author of Little Rabbit\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eUnflinching and tender, philosophical and mischievous,\u003c\/b\u003e 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\u003cb\u003e. I was captivated by Lee's masterful storytelling\u003c\/b\u003e -- Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring\u003cbr\u003eFantastically original doesn't begin to describe this\u003cb\u003e exhilarating, globe-spanning, decade-hopping masterpiece. \u003c\/b\u003eLee has achieved the impossible - from a fractured century of agonies and betrayals, she has woven a novel of immense beauty and regeneration -- Junot Díaz\u003cbr\u003eA stunning debut from Mirinae Lee, \u003ci\u003e8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster\u003c\/i\u003e 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\u003cbr\u003eMirinae 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. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e8 Lives\u003c\/i\u003e packs the spellbinding, page-turning punch of a spy thriller while quietly delivering the lilting insights of Carmen María Machado and Ocean Vuong. Lee's debut marks the arrival of a riveting new voice on the global literary stage\u003c\/b\u003e -- Brittani Sonnenberg, author of Home Leave\u003cbr\u003eMirinae Lee has created \u003cb\u003ean unforgettable character and a bold, inventive narrative\u003c\/b\u003e that takes us through history. But don't underestimate \u003ci\u003e8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster\u003c\/i\u003e; this\u003cb\u003e astonishing, compassionate, and ambitious\u003c\/b\u003e novel is more than story. Lee cares about \u003ci\u003ehow \u003c\/i\u003ethe story is told as much as the story itself. What an incredible debut. * Krys Lee, author of How I Became A North Korean *\u003cbr\u003eA turbulent novel traversing decades of Korean history, \u003ci\u003e8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cb\u003einterrogates love, identity, betrayal, and everything it takes for one shape-shifting \"trickster\" to survive. Lee writes with sharp, ferocious energy\u003c\/b\u003e, and I was riveted from the first page. An exquisitely accomplished debut -- Mira T. Lee, author of Everything Here is Beautiful\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChilling, bold and masterful\u003c\/b\u003e, Lee's dazzling debut slams into the head and the heart with dizzying, visceral force and commanding skill. Intricately and inventively plotted, \u003ci\u003e8 Lives of a Century-old Trickster\u003c\/i\u003e is h\u003cb\u003eard-wired with tension and suspense and bound tight with history\u003c\/b\u003e -- Kimberly Elkins, author of What Is Visible\u003cbr\u003eReading \u003ci\u003e8 Lives\u003c\/i\u003e is like eating earth: \u003cb\u003eunapologetically rebellious, breathtakingly exhilarating, and deeply painful\u003c\/b\u003e. 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. \u003cb\u003eLee's debut is a gift to all storytellers of diasporic imagination\u003c\/b\u003e -- Joseph Juhn, director of Chosen\u003cbr\u003eThe atrocity and suffering interwoven in these pages tell the splintered history of war and violence in twentieth-century Korea that keeps me awake at night. Mirinae Lee unravels human intentions and actions with devastating details, reminding us of many hearts of darkness\u003cb\u003e. What's most striking, however, is the trust invested in the power of storytelling. The interlocking lives in the novel read like scar tissues that reopen and close. \u003c\/b\u003e A mutual understanding is established as we re-examine the wounds that won't heal until they find their voice, until we listen. -- Kit Fan, author of Diamond Hill\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSoaring, fierce, bold, and intoxicating, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster \u003c\/i\u003edraws an unforgettable portrait of a Korean woman navigating her place in the world over the course of almost a hundred years. Lives that have been ruptured by war, totalitarianism, and unexpected family discoveries are explored with razor-sharp insight and shimmering detail. The lies we tell, the particles of pleasure we find amidst the pain, and how deception and the power of storytelling can lead us to our truest selves are all explored with phenomenal skill. \u003cb\u003eAn absolutely astonishing work of art\u003c\/b\u003e -- Marjan Kamali, author of The Stationery Shop of Tehran\u003cbr\u003eOutstanding ... \u003cb\u003eenticing, profound and deeply moving. \u003c\/b\u003eBy the end, the reader is left with an intensely vivid picture of both North and South Korea during the mid-20th century, throughout multiple wars and times of national chaos * Bookpage (USA) *\u003cbr\u003eLee's \u003cb\u003ebeautiful\u003c\/b\u003e novel is a tale of survival, trauma, and love in the midst of modern Korea's most tumultuous times. Her metaphorical and lyrical language, brutal and unsettling storytelling, and masterful prose \u003cb\u003ewill keep readers hooked until the very end\u003c\/b\u003e * Booklist (USA) *\u003cbr\u003eSmart, complex, inventive, melancholy * Kirkus (USA) *\u003cbr\u003eA\u003cb\u003e beguiling, complex tale of love and survival\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ethat will keep you riveted-and speculating-until the very end,\u003c\/b\u003e thanks to Lee's brilliant talent for sleight of hand * Tor.com *\u003cbr\u003eDespite the darkness of the history it retells, this is primarily an adventure novel, fueled by the same righteous anger that turns ordinary mortals into masked superheroes * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eGrandma Mook ... has murdered four men, deceived her husband, and is a wanted terrorist. And yet, in a \u003cb\u003edazzling\u003c\/b\u003e feat of storytelling, she is a lovable character. Her tales of brutality, grit, hope, love, and redemption are too fantastic to be untrue. This is \u003cb\u003ea cracking good read, rich with social commentary and historical detail.\u003c\/b\u003e * Historical Novel Society *\u003cbr\u003eMirinae 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. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e8 Lives\u003c\/i\u003e packs the spellbinding, page-turning punch of a spy thriller while quietly delivering the lilting insights of Carmen María Machado and Ocean Vuong. Lee's debut marks the arrival of a riveting new voice on the global literary stage\u003c\/b\u003e -- Brittani Sonnenberg, author of Home Leave\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833037832535,"sku":"9780349016740","price":15.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349016740.jpg?v=1710341053","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/8-lives-of-a-centuryold-trickster-9780349016740","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}