Shoko’s Smile Stories
Shoko’s Smile Stories by Choi Eunyoung is a collection of short stories published by Penguin on June 1, 2021. This edition, written in English and spanning 272 pages, presents a series of intimate portraits that explore the lives of young women in South Korea. Through crisp and unembellished prose, Choi delves into the intersection of personal experiences and broader societal issues, offering readers a glimpse into the complexities of friendship, love, and loss.
In this collection, readers will find narratives that address significant themes such as cultural heritage and the female experience. The stories include a fraught friendship between an exchange student and her host sister, a woman’s journey to Russia following the death of her lover, and the emotional turmoil faced by a teacher’s parents after a tragic event. Choi Eunyoung’s work reflects a nuanced understanding of human relationships, making this collection a thoughtful exploration of contemporary life.
Official synopsis Publisher
A bestselling and award-winning debut collection from one of South Korea’s most prominent young writers.
In crisp, unembellished prose, Eun-young Choi paints intimate portraits of the lives of young women in South Korea, balancing the personal with the political. In the title story, a fraught friendship between an exchange student and her host sister follows them from adolescence to adulthood. In “A Song from Afar,” a young woman grapples with the death of her lover, traveling to Russia to search for information about the deceased. In “Secret,” the parents of a teacher killed in the Sewol ferry sinking hide the news of her death from her grandmother.
In the tradition of Sally Rooney, Banana Yoshimoto, and Marilynne Robinson–writers from different cultures who all take an unvarnished look at human relationships and the female experience–Choi Eunyoung is a writer to watch.
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