First published 2017
In a bleak North Korean city, a couple desperately wanting a son welcomes their seventh daughter instead. The father, driven to madness by disappointment, abandons the infant in the forest to die. The grandmother rescues the baby and names her Bari, after a legendary princess who journeyed to find the water of life. Bari inherits her grandmother's supernatural ability to read people's pasts through touch. Like her mythical namesake, she must embark on her own transformative odyssey that will determine her fate. Her path leads through the harsh realities faced by migrants and urban outcasts in the modern world. Hwang Sok-yong weaves ancient Korean legend into contemporary struggles, following Bari as she navigates between mystical inheritance and brutal social conditions. The story captures the experiences of displaced people who become the new untouchables of cities, while Bari's psychic gift connects her to the pain and histories of those around her.
Genres: fantasy, contemporary, magical-realism
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, journey
Setting: North Korea
224 pages · Paperback · Doğan Kitap