Bae dissolves conventional ¬linear narrative, as though it were
impossible for cause and effect to exist concurrently with such
repression. --Joanna Walsh, The National
A writer struggles to come to terms with the death of her beloved
mentor; the staging of an experimental play goes awry; time freezes for
two lovers on a platform, waiting for the train that will take one of
them away; a woman living in a foreign country discovers she has been
issued the wrong ID.
Emotionally haunting and intellectually stimulating, the seven stories
in North Station represent the range and power of Bae Suah's
distinctive voice and style, which delights in digressions, multiple
storylines, and sudden ruptures of societal norms. Heavily influenced by
the German authors she's read and translated, Bae's stories combine
elements of Korean and European storytelling in a way that's
unforgettable and mesmerizing.
Bae Suah, one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary Korean
authors, has published more than a dozen short story collections and
novels, and has won a number of prestigious awards. She has also
translated several books from the German, including works by W. G.
Sebald, Franz Kafka, and Jenny Erpenbeck. Her novel Nowhere to Be
Found was longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize and the Best
Translated Book Awards.
Deborah Smith has translated two other books by Bae (Recitation
and A Greater Music) and won the Man Booker International Prize for
her translation of Han Kang's The Vegetarian. She is the founder of
Tilted Axis Press.
