To the Warm Horizon by Choi Jin-young is new sci-fi book from Korea in our collection, after Tower and Readymade Bodhisattva anthology, but with a completely different vibe – and the only one with an LGBTQ+ relationship. A post-apocalyptic novel about a world after the attack of an unknown, deadly virus may sound quite uneasy these days, but this story focuses more on the everyday life of the characters – on their desires and dreams against the backdrop of difficulties they face – rather than on the details of the tragedy itself.
The first-person narrative led alternately by five characters shows different aspects of dystopian reality. Dori and Miso are sisters, orphans; Jina travels with several family members who survived. Ryu is a young woman who, along with her husband, mourns the loss of their daughter; Gunji is a teenager with a dark past. All face difficulties coming from hostile nature and others; robberies, murders and rapes are everyday occurences. In a broken world, it’s hard to see anything positive, but the little everyday pleasures and memories of happier times make a big difference for characters.
Dori and Jina fall in love, Gunji also experiences his first love, and Ryu mends his relationship with his husband in face of a world where they have nothing but each other. That’s what the book’s strongest point is: complex and surprisingly warm relationships that develop among personal tragedies. Choi uses the story for more than pure dystopian speculation. And, above all, to analyze the interactions between individuals and groups, studying human nature.
There are no reviews yet.