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The impossible fairy tale : a novel / Han Yujoo ; translated from the Korean by Janet Hong.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Minneapolis, Minnesota : Graywolf Press, c2017Description: 214 p. ; 21 cmISBN:
  • 9781555977665 (paperback)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 23 895.735 Y949
Summary: "The Impossible Fairy Tale is the story of two unexceptional grade-school girls. Mia is "lucky"--she is spoiled by her mother and, as she explains, her two fathers. She gloats over her exotic imported color pencils and won't be denied a coveted sweater. Then there is the Child who, by contrast, is neither lucky nor unlucky. She makes so little impression that she seems not even to merit a name. At school, their fellow students, whether lucky or luckless or unlucky, seem consumed by an almost murderous rage. Adults are nearly invisible, and the society the children create on their own is marked by cruelty and soul-crushing hierarchies. Then, one day, the Child sneaks into the classroom after hours and adds ominous sentences to her classmates' notebooks. This sinister but initially inconsequential act unlocks a series of events that end in horrible violence. But that is not the end of this eerie, unpredictable novel. A teacher, who is also this book's author, wakes from an intense dream. When she arrives at her next class, she recognizes a student: the Child, who knows about the events of the novel's first half, which took place years before. The Impossible Fairy Tale is a fresh and terrifying exploration of the ethics of art making and of the stinging consequences of neglect." -- Publisher's website
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Vol info Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Books Books Library, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) Window on Korea Fiction 895.735 Y949i (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 2017 01 Available WOK000465
Total holds: 0

"The Impossible Fairy Tale is the story of two unexceptional grade-school girls. Mia is "lucky"--she is spoiled by her mother and, as she explains, her two fathers. She gloats over her exotic imported color pencils and won't be denied a coveted sweater. Then there is the Child who, by contrast, is neither lucky nor unlucky. She makes so little impression that she seems not even to merit a name. At school, their fellow students, whether lucky or luckless or unlucky, seem consumed by an almost murderous rage. Adults are nearly invisible, and the society the children create on their own is marked by cruelty and soul-crushing hierarchies. Then, one day, the Child sneaks into the classroom after hours and adds ominous sentences to her classmates' notebooks. This sinister but initially inconsequential act unlocks a series of events that end in horrible violence. But that is not the end of this eerie, unpredictable novel. A teacher, who is also this book's author, wakes from an intense dream. When she arrives at her next class, she recognizes a student: the Child, who knows about the events of the novel's first half, which took place years before. The Impossible Fairy Tale is a fresh and terrifying exploration of the ethics of art making and of the stinging consequences of neglect." -- Publisher's website