First published in 1990, this is a sensational and highly controversial
novel by one of Korea's most electrifying contemporary authors. A
preposterous coming-of-age story, melding sex, death, and high school in
a manner reminiscent of some perverse collision between Georges Bataille
and Beverly Cleary, the narrator of this book plows through
contemporaneous Korean mores with aplomb, bound for destruction, or
maturity--whichever comes first.