From the author of international bestseller Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 ''Cho's complex, humane, and by its end utterly transfixing novel shows that it is in community that we find resilience.' i newspaper 'Like Bong Joon-ho's Academy Award-winning film Parasite and the popular Netflix series Squid Games, Saha points to the increasing inequality and lack of social mobility in South Korea. ... With global inequality on the rise, Saha's theme of human dignity quashed by the interests of mega-corporations resonates widely.' Daily Telegraph '[A]n affecting portrait of people doing their best to survive in a world that would rather pretend they didn't exist.' New York Times In a country called 'Town', Su is found dead in an abandoned car. The suspected killer is presumed to come from the Saha Estates. Town is a privatised country, controlled by a secretive organisation known as the Seven Premiers. It is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots and those who have the very least live on the Saha Estates. Among their number is Jin-Kyung, a young woman whose brother, Dok-yung, was in a relationship with Su and quickly becomes the police's prime suspect. When Dok-yung disappears, Jin Ky-ung is determined to get to the bottom of things. On her quest to find the truth, though, she will uncover a reality far darker and crimes far greater than she could ever have imagined. At once a dystopian mystery and devastating critique of how we live now, Saha lifts the lid on corruption, exploitation and government oppression, while, with deep humanity and compassion, showing us the lives of those who, through no fault of their own, suffer at the hand of brutal forces far beyond their control. Praise for Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 'It describes experiences that will be recognisable everywhere. It's slim, unadorned narrative distils a lifetime's iniquities into a sharp punch.' The Sunday Times 'A ground-breaking work of feminist fiction' Stylist 'Along with other socially critical narratives to come out of Korea, such as Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film Parasite, her story could change the bigger one.' The Guardian 'This witty, disturbing book deals with sexism, mental health issues and the hypocrisy of a country where young women are "popping caffeine pills and turning jaundiced" as they slave away in factories helping to fund higher education for male siblings.' The Independent 'Enthralling and enraging.' Sunday Express 'Cho's moving, witty and powerful novel forces us to face our reality, in which one woman is seen, pretty much, as interchangeable with any other. There's a logic to Kim Jiyoung's shape-shifting: she could be anybody.' Daily Telegraph

FROM THE AUTHOR OF KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1982   Eight women. Eight stories. One reality.   A woman is born. A woman is filmed in public without consent. A woman suffers domestic violence. A woman is gaslit. A woman is discriminated against at work. A woman grows old. A woman becomes famous. A woman is hated, and loved, and then hated again.   Written in Cho Nam-Joo’s masterful, razor-sharp prose, Miss Kim Knows brings together the lives of eight Korean women, aged 10 to 80. Contained in each of these biographies is a microcosm of contemporary Korea, and the challenges and injustices that women face from childhood to old age. As with Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982, the fates of these eight women are the fates of women the world over. And under Cho Nam-Joo’s precise, unveiled gaze, nothing and nobody escapes scrutiny--not even herself.  

From the author of international bestseller Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 ''Cho’s complex, humane, and by its end utterly transfixing novel shows that it is in community that we find resilience.' i newspaper 'Like Bong Joon-ho's Academy Award-winning film Parasite and the popular Netflix series Squid Games, Saha points to the increasing inequality and lack of social mobility in South Korea. ... With global inequality on the rise, Saha’s theme of human dignity quashed by the interests of mega-corporations resonates widely.' Guardian '[A]n affecting portrait of people doing their best to survive in a world that would rather pretend they didn’t exist.' New York Times In a country called ‘Town’, Su is found dead in an abandoned car. The suspected killer is presumed to come from the Saha Estates.   Town is a privatised country, controlled by a secretive organisation known as the Seven Premiers. It is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots and those who have the very least live on the Saha Estates. Among their number is Jin-Kyung, a young woman whose brother, Dok-yung, was in a relationship with Su and quickly becomes the police’s prime suspect. When Dok-yung disappears, Jin Ky-ung is determined to get to the bottom of things. On her quest to find the truth, though, she will uncover a reality far darker and crimes far greater than she could ever have imagined.   At once a dystopian mystery and devastating critique of how we live now, Saha lifts the lid on corruption, exploitation and government oppression, while, with deep humanity and compassion, showing us the lives of those who, through no fault of their own, suffer at the hand of brutal forces far beyond their control. Praise for Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982  'It describes experiences that will be recognisable everywhere. It’s slim, unadorned narrative distils a lifetime’s iniquities into a sharp punch.’ The Sunday Times   ‘A ground-breaking work of feminist fiction’ Stylist   ‘Along with other socially critical narratives to come out of Korea, such as Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning film Parasite, her story could change the bigger one.’ The Guardian   'This witty, disturbing book deals with sexism, mental health issues and the hypocrisy of a country where young women are “popping caffeine pills and turning jaundiced� as they slave away in factories helping to fund higher education for male siblings.' The Independent   'Enthralling and enraging.' Sunday Express   ‘Cho’s moving, witty and powerful novel forces us to face our reality, in which one woman is seen, pretty much, as interchangeable with any other. There’s a logic to Kim Jiyoung’s shape-shifting: she could be anybody.’ Daily Telegraph  

THE MULTI-MILLION-COPY SELLING SOUTH KOREAN SENSATION THAT HAS GOT THE WHOLE WORLD TALKING 'A ground-breaking work of feminist fiction.' Stylist Who is Kim Jiyoung? Kim Jiyoung is a girl born to a mother whose in-laws wanted a boy. Kim Jiyoung is a sister made to share a room while her brother gets one of his own. Kim Jiyoung is a female preyed upon by male teachers at school. Kim Jiyoung is a daughter whose father blames her when she is harassed late at night. Kim Jiyoung is a good student who doesn't get put forward for internships. Kim Jiyoung is a model employee but gets overlooked for promotion. Kim Jiyoung is a wife who gives up her career and independence for a life of domesticity. Kim Jiyoung has started acting strangely. Kim Jiyoung is depressed. Kim Jiyoung is mad. Kim Jiyoung is her own woman. Kim Jiyoung is every woman. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is the life story of one young woman born at the end of the twentieth century and raises questions about endemic misogyny and institutional oppression that are relevant to us all. Riveting, original and uncompromising, this is the most important book to have emerged from South Korea since Han Kang's The Vegetarian. Praise for Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 'It describes experiences that will be recognisable everywhere. It's slim, unadorned narrative distils a lifetime's iniquities into a sharp punch.' The Sunday Times 'A ground-breaking work of feminist fiction' Stylist 'Along with other socially critical narratives to come out of Korea, such as Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film Parasite, her story could change the bigger one.' TheGuardian 'This witty, disturbing book deals with sexism, mental health issues and the hypocrisy of a country where young women are "popping caffeine pills and turning jaundiced" as they slave away in factories helping to fund higher education for male siblings.' The Independent 'Enthralling and enraging.' Sunday Express 'Cho's moving, witty and powerful novel forces us to face our reality, in which one woman is seen, pretty much, as interchangeable with any other. There's a logic to Kim Jiyoung's shape-shifting: she could be anybody.' Daily Telegraph

One of the most notable novels of the year, hailed by both critics and K-pop stars alike, Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 follows one woman's psychic deterioration in the face of rampant misogyny. In a tidy apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, millennial "everywoman" Kim Jiyoung spends her days caring for her infant daughter. But strange symptoms appear: Jiyoung begins to impersonate the voices of other women, dead and alive. As she plunges deeper into this psychosis, her concerned husband sends her to a psychiatrist. Jiyoung narrates her story to this doctor-from her birth to parents who expected a son to elementary school teachers who policed girls' outfits to male coworkers who installed hidden cameras in women's restrooms. But can her psychiatrist cure her, or even discover what truly ails her? "A social treatise as well as a work of art" (Alexandra Alter, New York Times), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 heralds the arrival of international powerhouse Cho Nam-Joo.

In a country called Town, a doctor named Su is found dead in an abandoned car. There is only one place the police intend to look for her suspected killer: the Saha Estates. Controlled by a secretive organization of ministers, Town is the safest, richest nation in the world. But it is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots, and those who have the very least—who aren’t even considered citizens—live on the Saha Estates. Residents of Saha must squat in moldy units without plumbing or electricity and can only find work doing harsh labor. For many, the apartment complex is a bleak haven for escaping even bleaker pasts—as it was for Jin-kyung and her brother, Do-Kyung, who showed up one day sopping wet and shivering. No one is shocked when a lowlife like Do-Kyung becomes the main suspect in Su’s—a citizen’s—murder. But then Do-Kyung disappears. Isolated in a barren Saha unit, Jin-Kyung makes a choice: she will finally confront a system hellbent on erasing her brother’s existence. To find him, she must rely on her tightlipped neighbors, from the mysterious janitor known as “Old Man,� to Granny Konnim, the community gardener and reluctant midwife, to Woomi, an unwitting test subject at the local clinic. On her quest for the truth, Jin-kyung will uncover a reality far darker than she could have imagined. Written in Cho Nam-Joo’s signature sharp prose, brilliantly translated by Jamie Chang, Saha is a chilling portrait of what happens when we finally unmask our oppressors.

In a country called Town, a doctor named Su is found dead in an abandoned car. There is only one place the police intend to look for her suspected killer: the Saha Estates. Controlled by a secretive organization of ministers, Town is the safest, richest nation in the world. But it is a society clearly divided into the haves and have-nots, and those who have the very least-who aren't even considered citizens-live on the Saha Estates. Residents of Saha must squat in moldy units without plumbing or electricity and can only find work doing harsh labor. For many, the apartment complex is a bleak haven for escaping even bleaker pasts-as it was for Jin-kyung and her brother, Do-Kyung, who showed up one day sopping wet and shivering. No one is shocked when a lowlife like Do-Kyung becomes the main suspect in Su's-a citizen's-murder. But then Do-Kyung disappears. Isolated in a barren Saha unit, Jin-Kyung makes a choice: she will finally confront a system hellbent on erasing her brother's existence. To find him, she must rely on her tightlipped neighbors, from the mysterious janitor known as "Old Man," to Granny Konnim, the community gardener and reluctant midwife, to Woomi, an unwitting test subject at the local clinic. On her quest for the truth, Jin-kyung will uncover a reality far darker than she could have imagined. Written in Cho Nam-Joo's signature sharp prose, brilliantly translated by Jamie Chang, Saha is a chilling portrait of what happens when we finally unmask our oppressors.