Gu Byeong-mo

*A New York Times Book Review Notable Book**An NPR Best Book of the Year**An NPR Book We Love**A New York Times Editors' Choice Pick**A Most Anticipated Read in LitHub, CrimeReads, Thrillist, and Popsugar**A Boston Globe Thriller to Read on Your Summer Vacation**A Crime Reads Best International Crime Fiction for 2022*The kinetic story of a sixty-five-year-old female assassin who faces an unexpected threat in the twilight of her career--this is an international bestseller and the English language debut from an award-winning South Korean author At sixty-five, Hornclaw is beginning to slow down. She lives modestly in a small apartment, with only her aging dog, a rescue named Deadweight, to keep her company. There are expectations for people her age--that she'll retire and live out the rest of her days quietly. But Hornclaw is not like other people. She is an assassin. Double-crossers, corporate enemies, cheating spouses--for the past four decades, Hornclaw has killed them all with ruthless efficiency, and the less she's known about her targets, the better. But now, nearing the end of her career, she has just slipped up. An injury leads her to an unexpected connection with a doctor and his family. But emotions, for an assassin, are a dangerous proposition. As Hornclaw's world closes in, this final chapter in her career may also mark her own bloody end. A sensation in South Korea, and now translated into English for the first time by Chi-Young Kim, The Old Woman with the Knife is an electrifying, singular, mordantly funny novel about the expectations imposed on aging bodies and the dramatic ways in which one woman chooses to reclaim her agency.

'An important literary piece of feminist activism''Taps into the everyday minutiae of motherhood, baring to all the unspoken labours that women take on both inside and out of parenthood''Really made me reflect on what it actually means to be a part of a community''Given recent news stories this feels like an incredibly relevant read'-------------------------------------From the award-winning Korean author Gu Byeong-mo and International Booker-nominated translator Chi-Young Kim, comes a thought-provoking story of community and the cultural expectations of motherhood. What are you willing to sacrifice for a 'better' life? When Yojin moves with her husband and daughter into the Dream Future Pilot Communal Apartments, she's ready for a fresh start. Located on the outskirts of Seoul, the experimental community is a government initiative designed to boost the national birth rate. Like her neighbours, Yojin has agreed to have at least two more children over the next ten years. Yet, from the day she arrives, Yojin feels uneasy about the community spirit thrust upon her. Her concerns grow as communal child care begins and the other parents show their true colours. Your Neighbour's Table traces the lives of four women in the apartments, all with different aspirations and beliefs. Will they find a way to live peacefully? Or are society's expectations stacked against them from the start? A trenchant social novel from an award-winning author, Your Neighbour's Table incisively illuminates the unspoken imbalance of women's parenting labour and the challenges of working towards a better life.[Published in North America with the title APARTMENT WOMEN]

The award-winning, shocking Korean bestseller, a unique tale where magic comes at a price.'A story of choice and consequence. Unique and unorthodox' ? ? ? ? ?'I didn't want to stop reading, I still don't want the story to be over' ? ? ? ? ?'Don't we all need a little magic in our lives sometimes?'Open twenty-four hours a day in a quiet Seoul neighbourhood, The Wizard's Bakery seems like any other where you can buy bread, cakes, and pastries, with a somewhat grumpy man behind the counter. For a desperate runaway teen, it's a refuge from a fractured home - until he discovers the pastries hold magic: madeleines to fix broken hearts, almond bars to unearth memories buried deep within and cinnamon cookies for your worst enemies. But each of these items come with a warning: the power contained in the treats inevitably alters the order of the world and can produce dramatic consequences for those who consume them, consequences that need to be weighed carefully. Under the stern eye of the bakery's gruff wizard and his mysterious blue-haired assistant, the boy learns about the responsibility that comes with working in a bakery where every bite comes with a price. READERS ARE COMPLETELY BEWITCHED BY THIS MAGICAL TALE: 'A very profound story with a lot to take away' ? ? ? ? ? 'Absolutely charming and unexpectedly poignant' ? ? ? ? ? 'Magic has never been so tempting' ? ? ? ? ?

"From the New York Times Notable author of The Old Woman with the Knife comes a bracingly original story of family, marriage and the cultural expectations of motherhood, about four women whose lives intersect in dramatic and unexpected ways at a government-run apartment complex outside Seoul When Yojin moves with her husband and daughter into the Dream Future Pilot Communal Apartments, she's ready for a fresh start. Located on the outskirts of Seoul, the experimental community is a government initiative designed to boost the national birth rate. Like her neighbors, Yojin has agreed to have at least two more children over the next ten years. Yet, from the day she arrives, Yojin feels uneasy about the community spirit thrust upon her. Her concerns grow as communal child care begins and the other parents show their true colors. Apartment Women traces the lives of four women in the apartments, all with different aspirations and beliefs. Will they find a way to live peacefully? Or are the cultural expectations around parenthood stacked against them from the start? A trenchant social novel from an award-winning author, Apartment Women incisively illuminates the unspoken imbalance of women's parenting labor, challenging the age-old assumption that "it takes a village" to raise a child."

'An important literary piece of feminist activism''Taps into the everyday minutiae of motherhood, baring to all the unspoken labours that women take on both inside and out of parenthood''Really made me reflect on what it actually means to be a part of a community''Given recent news stories this feels like an incredibly relevant read'-------------------------------------From the award-winning Korean author Gu Byeong-mo and International Booker-nominated translator Chi-Young Kim, comes a thought-provoking story of community and the cultural expectations of motherhood. What are you willing to sacrifice for a 'better' life? When Yojin moves with her husband and daughter into the Dream Future Pilot Communal Apartments, she's ready for a fresh start. Located on the outskirts of Seoul, the experimental community is a government initiative designed to boost the national birth rate. Like her neighbours, Yojin has agreed to have at least two more children over the next ten years. Yet, from the day she arrives, Yojin feels uneasy about the community spirit thrust upon her. Her concerns grow as communal child care begins and the other parents show their true colours. Your Neighbour's Table traces the lives of four women in the apartments, all with different aspirations and beliefs. Will they find a way to live peacefully? Or are society's expectations stacked against them from the start? A trenchant social novel from an award-winning author, Your Neighbour's Table incisively illuminates the unspoken imbalance of women's parenting labour and the challenges of working towards a better life.[Published in North America with the title APARTMENT WOMEN]

A whip-smart, taut and compelling novel about a 60-something female assassin navigating the vulnerabilities posed by her ageing body, and a meditation on loss and loneliness

Vielä yksi murha ennen eläkevuosiaNainen ja veitsi on eteläkorealaisen Gu Byeong-Mon toimintatrilleri uransa päättävästä palkkamurhaajasta, jonka suunnitelmat yksi pieni virhe muuttaa peruuttamattomasti65-vuotiaan Sarvikynnen työura alkaa lähestyä päätepistettään. Hän asuu pienessä asunnossaan Soulissa rescuekoiransa kanssa ja kamppailee yhteiskunnan odotusten kanssa, sillä hänen työnsä ei katsota sopivan ikääntyvälle naiselle. Sarvikynsi on nimittäin ammatiltaan palkkamurhaaja, ja erittäin hyvä työssään. Neljän vuosikymmenen ajan Sarvikynsi on jahdannut ja päästänyt päiviltä huijareita, liikepomoja ja pettäviä puolisoita tekemättä yhtäkään virhettä. Viimeistä työtehtäväänsä suorittaessaan hän kuitenkin tekee yllättävän erehdyksen, jonka seurauksena Sarvikynsi vedetään mukaan täysin viattoman sivullisen ja tämän perheen elämään. Palkkamurhaajan ammatissa tunteet ovat heikkous, mutta ensimmäistä kertaa ikinä tunteet vievät voiton ja Sarvikynsi päätyy suojelemaan tuntematonta perhettä. Se ei tiedä hyvää hänen uralleen. Tai elämälleen. Eteläkorealaisen Gu Byeong-Mon Nainen ja veitsi on huikaisevan jännittävä toimintatrilleri normeista poikkeavasta palkkamurhaajasta, jonka eläkepäivät lähestyvät yksi ruumis kerrallaan.

Hornclaw is a sixty-five-year-old female contract killer who is considering retirement. A fighter who has experienced loss and grief early on in life, she lives in a state of self-imposed isolation, with just her dog, Deadweight, for company. While on an assassination job for the 'disease control' company she works for, Hornclaw makes an uncharacteristic error, causing a sequence of events that brings her past well and truly into the present. Threatened with sabotage by a young male upstart and battling new desires and urges when she least expects them, Hornclaw steels her resolve, demonstrating that no matter their age, the female of the species is always more deadly than the male.

*A New York Times Book Review Notable Book**An NPR Best Book of the Year**An NPR Book We Love**A New York Times Editors' Choice Pick**A Most Anticipated Read in LitHub, CrimeReads, Thrillist, and Popsugar**A Boston Globe Thriller to Read on Your Summer Vacation**A Crime Reads Best International Crime Fiction for 2022*The kinetic story of a sixty-five-year-old female assassin who faces an unexpected threat in the twilight of her career--this is an international bestseller and the English language debut from an award-winning South Korean author At sixty-five, Hornclaw is beginning to slow down. She lives modestly in a small apartment, with only her aging dog, a rescue named Deadweight, to keep her company. There are expectations for people her age--that she'll retire and live out the rest of her days quietly. But Hornclaw is not like other people. She is an assassin. Double-crossers, corporate enemies, cheating spouses--for the past four decades, Hornclaw has killed them all with ruthless efficiency, and the less she's known about her targets, the better. But now, nearing the end of her career, she has just slipped up. An injury leads her to an unexpected connection with a doctor and his family. But emotions, for an assassin, are a dangerous proposition. As Hornclaw's world closes in, this final chapter in her career may also mark her own bloody end. A sensation in South Korea, and now translated into English for the first time by Chi-Young Kim, The Old Woman with the Knife is an electrifying, singular, mordantly funny novel about the expectations imposed on aging bodies and the dramatic ways in which one woman chooses to reclaim her agency.