[Bread-Baking Typewriter] On the Weakest Day, Unexpected Comfort Came

Our Family Secret
Secret Stories Everyone Has
Six Short Stories Depicting Ordinary People in Crisis
A Glimpse of Warm Strength Gained from Others

[Asia Economy Reporter So-yeon Park] Everyone has a story, a background, and a family. Infertile couples, breadwinners facing unemployment, a girl who suddenly learns of her biological father’s existence, middle-aged people who have lost their spouses, pregnant women spending more time alone, bestselling authors whose popularity has waned. Hideo Okuda’s new novel Uri Jip Bimil (Our House’s Secret) portrays the stories of characters each with their own secret and poignant tales through six short stories.

Everyone experiences moments of vulnerability in life. What is it that lifts people up again in those moments? Could it be the warm gravitational pull between people? This book offers a glimpse into that mysterious force. In the first story, “Tooth Decay and the Pianist,” Atsumi, a dental office worker struggling to conceive a child, finds comfort through a famous pianist who comes as a patient. The pianist, once living a glamorous life, has become more ordinary and straightforward after going through hardships such as studying abroad and divorce. Atsumi, stressed by her mother-in-law’s persistent demands for grandchildren, finds solid consolation in the pianist’s calm life and performances, whom she has long admired.

“Masao’s Autumn” features Masao, a fifty-year-old salaryman who is forced into retirement after losing a promotion competition to a colleague who joined the company at the same time. Unable to accept the company’s decision to choose Kawashima, who excels only in office politics despite Masao’s superior performance, he struggles to shake off feelings of depression and resentment. Before the official personnel announcement, the company pushes Masao to take a trip as a courtesy. Unexpectedly, during the trip, Masao learns of Kawashima’s father’s passing. At the funeral, Masao unintentionally observes Kawashima’s relatives, his childhood, and the history and atmosphere that shaped him. At that moment, Masao feels his discomfort and hatred toward Kawashima melt away like snow.

In “Carried by the Letter,” Wakabayashi’s mother suddenly passes away from a stroke at the early age of fifty. The person more shocked than Wakabayashi is his father. The father, once as strong as Superman, falls into depression from the severe shock, causing Wakabayashi great concern. At this time, an unexpected figure offers help: Wakabayashi’s boss, Manager Ishida. Ishida, who lost his wife a year ago, listens to Wakabayashi’s story and sends a thick handwritten letter to his father. Despite all other attempts at consolation, Wakabayashi’s father, who had been living in gloom, finds the strength to live again through Ishida’s letter, even though they have never met. Other short stories such as “Anna’s December,” “The Pregnant Woman and the Couple Next Door,” and “The Wife and the Election” warmly depict moments of crisis that everyone experiences at least once in life, showing ordinary faces in extraordinary times.

Hideo Okuda is a popular author who has swept major Japanese literary awards including the Naoki Prize, the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize, and the Shibata Renzaburo Prize. His works such as Airborne Trapeze and Oh Happy Day have been bestsellers and beloved by readers in Korea as well. He is also known as a Korea-friendly author who has visited the country multiple times. Early in his career, he gained great popularity with humorous novels known as the “Irabu” series. Later, he attracted attention by realistically yet humorously portraying the darker sides of society in works like Midnight March, Run South, and The Mayor Election.

(Uri Jip Bimil / Hideo Okuda / Jaein)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.