K-Fiction series features bilingual (Korean-English) editions of texts by the most interesting contemporary authors from South Korea. The editors emphasize that the selection of the best stories is crucial for them – but everything in these books is enjoyable: careful editing, aesthetics or an interesting study in the form of a commentary/essay offered after the main text.
Chang-mo (창모) is the story of an unusual friendship between the narrator and the titlular character, who is a school bully (although it is a kind word to describe his behavior,) Chang-mo is aggressive and untamed, he doesn’t care about rules, he has no respect for anyone. The narrator mentions that she does not agree with the boy’s way of thinking, but is able to understand him. She is the only person in his life who is willing to do such a thing, which is why Chang-mo treats her differently than everyone else, but even she distances herself from him over time.
Violence from the victim’s point of view is more often written about (you’ll find it in Heaven or Lonely Castle in the Mirror), but Woo Da-young chooses a point of view closer to the perpetrator, so if you’re intrigued by dwelving into the psyche of antiheroes, you’ll enjoy this story. Chang-mo (창모) is an intriguing story about the perception of others, but also, as the author herself says, about the unpredictability of our lives, in which so much – such as the relationship between the narrator and Chang-mo – depends on total chance.
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