[One Sip of a Book] "Can One Person's Life Be Fully Transmitted to Another?"

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We present meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

Yoon, who studied language in Kyrgyzstan, hears the obituary of Larisa, the boarding house owner who had taken care of her, eight years after returning to Korea. Larisa leaves Yoon the notebook of her foster daughter Najira as a keepsake. Yoon translates the story written in Kyrgyz into Korean and delivers it to us, asking, "Can one person's life be fully conveyed to another?" The author, with intensely meticulous sentences, weaves the life events often condensed into simple words like 'birth,' 'death,' 'love,' and 'farewell' into a single story. The characters in the novel lose their bodies over time and fade from people's memories, but the story survives beside us, preserving their names. This novel is filled with awareness as a 'recording human' and realizations about 'living humans.'

Can sorrow, longing, and the gaps in memory be translated into human words? I have thought that one person's story being fully conveyed to another is close to a miracle. Now, I dare to earnestly wish for that miracle-like event. p.18~19

Every deficiency deserves to be beautiful. No matter what anyone says, I believe so. p.21

If there is a god, wouldn't that existence be the light that allows us to see ourselves reflected in the mirror of others? The light pouring down on us from all directions, isn't that itself? p.51~52

Pain is just pain. It is not a myth. In the face of pain, humans become small and insignificant, often revealing their lowest depths. Pain is a tricky thing that should neither be treated lightly nor overly revered. It's quite a complicated fellow. p.61

Names Left Behind | Written by An Yoon | Munhakdongne | 216 pages | 14,000 KRW

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