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Impossible Fairy Tale
Impossible Fairy Tale | Han Yujoo
24 posts | 17 read | 113 to read
A chilling, wildly original novel from a major new voice from South Korea"""The Impossible Fairy Tale "is the story of two unexceptional grade-school girls. Mia is lucky she is spoiled by her mother and, as she explains, her two fathers. She gloats over her exotic imported color pencils and won t be denied a coveted sweater. Then there is the Child who, by contrast, is neither lucky nor unlucky. She makes so little impression that she seems not even to merit a name.At school, their fellow students, whether lucky or luckless or unlucky, seem consumed by an almost murderous rage. Adults are nearly invisible, and the society the children create on their own is marked by cruelty and soul-crushing hierarchies. Then, one day, the Child sneaks into the classroom after hours and adds ominous sentences to her classmates notebooks. This sinister but initially inconsequential act unlocks a series of events that end in horrible violence.But that is not the end of this eerie, unpredictable novel. A teacher, who is also this book s author, wakes from an intense dream. When she arrives at her next class, she recognizes a student: the Child, who knows about the events of the novel s first half, which took place years earlier. Han Yujoo s "The Impossible Fairy Tale "is a fresh and terrifying exploration of the ethics of art making and of the stinging consequences of neglect."
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mreads
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Set of 8 chapbooks translated from Korean. None in the litsy system.

Published by Stranger press. "Based in Norwich, UNESCO City of Literature, Strangers Press is dedicated to publishing the finest literature in translation in collaboration with the British Centre for Literary Translation, University of East Anglia, and The National Centre for Writing"

https://www.strangers.press/#

Velvetfur Thanks for that link! It looks really good, I've saved it to my Evernote 😁 5y
batsy Those look very interesting indeed! 5y
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Bertha_Mason

"Spring doesn‘t retreat until it has killed the last flower. The hunger of spring is desperate and murderous."

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Bertha_Mason

"Parents who have birthed a child are able to kill it, and things like this happen because they think the child is their property; things like this happen whenever a child‘s overgrown secrets are found—secrets parents are unable to accept, unable to accept that a child they had borne holds secrets, that the child has overstepped its bounds."

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Bertha_Mason

"Once during a spelling test, she wrote *knell* instead of *kneel*. This was three or four years ago. Since that day, she doesn‘t want to risk hearing the kneel of her mother‘s anger. She knells and waits for her mother‘s anger to fade. She must always knell and make herself very small, like a dust mote, a grain, some kind of vermin."

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Bertha_Mason

"She wishes she could be erased. But every time she tries to erase herself, she only grows darker. Every day, she grows darker. Enough for her body to gobble up her shadow."

jmofo Wow. 5y
2 likes1 comment
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emilyhaldi
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This book was almost a #hellogoodbye for me, meaning I wanted to bail by page 3. But something is drawing me in and motivating me to find out what the hell is happening between Mia and The Child. Made it to page 40 and still struggling, but I‘m powering through. This is from last years #tbrbingo... determined to make it happen!
#heyjune

JennyM It has a pretty cover x 6y
LaraReads Such a pretty photo! 6y
Cinfhen The cover is the real winner💕and your photo is 🙌🏻 6y
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GypsyKat So pretty! 6y
SandyW Wow you're determined! 6y
batsy So pretty! From what I've read in reviews I'm a bit afraid to tackle this one 😆 #intimidated 6y
Kalalalatja I want to buy this just for the cover, but all the mixed reviews are holding me back 6y
emilyhaldi I just hate-read the rest of this book 🙄 @batsy @Kalalalatja I do NOT recommend trying this one... it‘s so absurdly bizarre. Imagine a chapter where every object is described using “brick” ...”the brick breeze and the brick sandwich made me pull up the brick blanket to my brick face”... etc etc. Is this a form of art I just cannot comprehend? Perhaps. But I don‘t want to. 6y
Reviewsbylola That sounds absolutely abysmal. Hard pass. 6y
Reviewsbylola I‘m pretty curious what in the world made you pick this one up. 6y
batsy Oh my 😬😬 6y
Cinfhen Sometimes a pretty cover just isn‘t enough!! 6y
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danimgill
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Pickpick

I think I‘ll be processing this one for a bit - the second half really threw me for a loop. A strange, dark and at times downright poetic story about two girls who are opposites and the power of narrative. That‘s the best I can explain it without giving too much away! The writing style is so unique, big props to the translator (and the cover artist 😍)

emilyhaldi Nice review! This has been on my tbr for a long time! 6y
danimgill @emilyhaldi Thanks! 😊 It did take me a bit to get into but once I was in the flow of the story I couldn‘t put it down, hope you enjoy! 6y
Crazeedi Sounds interesting! 6y
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danimgill
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Borrowed this one from a friend who absolutely loved it - if the writing is half as gorgeous as the cover I‘m sure I‘ll feel the same way!

Cinfhen I agree , beautiful cover 6y
monkeygirlsmama Stacking! The cover and the blurb have me needing to read this. 6y
MayJasper I also agree #coversublime 😍 6y
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lguten_morganl
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Taking a break from the math (ugh) to read a new book I just borrowed!

MrBook Math, ugh indeed, lol. Welcome to Litsy! We hope you enjoy your stay with us. This place can get addicting. 😆 7y
angrylilasian Welcome to Litsy! 7y
lguten_morganl @MrBook @angrylilasian thanks for the warm welcome! 7y
RaimeyGallant Welcome to Litsy! #LitsyWelcomeWagon 7y
Jess7 Welcome! 7y
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kdwinchester
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Pickpick

I didn't know what to expect when I started THE IMPOSSIBLE FAIRY TALE, but I'd read elsewhere that the story was experimental, dark, and artistic. While this story is all of these things, I didn't anticipate the novel's emotional depth. While its the nontraditional style may not be for everyone, THE IMPOSSIBLE FAIRY TALE is an enriching experience in a different kind of fiction. #womenintranslation #witmonth

WarpedSweetness I looked it up and it sounds really good. I also really like that cover. 7y
emilyhaldi Great review! 7y
I-read-and-eat Now I need this! Love the review 😊 7y
Cailey_Mac Love the review! Makes me want to read it without giving anything away🤗 awesome shot as well! 7y
ShelfSpaceLimited Pretty cover!! 7y
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thereadingwomen
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I didn't know what to expect when I started this. I didn't anticipate the novel's emotional depth. While its the nontraditional style may not be for everyone, THE IMPOSSIBLE FAIRY TALE is an enriching experience in a different kind of fiction. It's a novel that asks you to slow down and read every word because each detail is important. You can hear more thoughts on the IMPOSSIBLE FAIRY TALE in our latest episode.
#WomeninTranslationMonth

charissharpe What a stunning cover! It sounds so unusual, added to my #tbr 7y
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rachellayown
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I'm finishing up the book I'm reading tonight and tomorrow is my birthday and I want to read something really GOOD. I'm thinking one of these... any thoughts/ recommendations?

Redwritinghood Unfortunately, i haven't read any of them, but happy birthday! 7y
readordierachel I've heard really good things about Purple Hibiscus, but I haven't read it yet. Happy birthday! 7y
Megabooks I really enjoyed White Fur! I'd recommend it! 7y
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mklong I'm almost finished with White Fur and am really enjoying it, but I haven't read the others. Happy Birthday!!! 7y
Kalalalatja I haven't read any of them, but those covers are stunning 😍 7y
batsy Happy birthday! ☺️ Purple Hibiscus is very good but somewhat bleak. I'm looking forward to the Zinzi Clemmons book too! Such a pretty cover. 7y
MicheleinPhilly Happy Birthday!!! 7y
L_auren White Fur!! 7y
rachellayown I have too @ReadOrDieRachel! I'll read it within the next month. And thank you! 7y
rachellayown Thanks @Booksandcooks! I'm looking forward to reading it. 7y
rachellayown Thanks @mklong! I'm going to dig in to White Fur soon. 7y
rachellayown Yes, I like the covers, too @Kalalalatja! 7y
rachellayown Thanks @batsy! I may hold off on Purple Hibiscus right now if it's bleak, but I'll read it soon. 7y
rachellayown I'm going to read White Fur soon @L_auren! 7y
vivastory Happy Birthday! 🎂 🎈 🍻 📚 7y
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review
DiruVamp
Mehso-so

This one is hard for me to review. I have no idea what I read. I wish I could even explain what it was about but I don't know. The first part was easier to read and understand than the second part but not by much. Very fragmented sentences that just ran around in circles. Odd book. Just not for me.

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Nafiza
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34 pages into this one and am limping along. Maybe I should try reading this in the original Korean. I reckon it must be marvelous in it. The short fragmentary sentences make reading difficult. Things may change though.

#translated

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CherylDeFranceschi
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Also, because I was in a bookstore that wasn't mine, I had to do my part and #shopindie, so these lovelies had to come home with me. This sounds eerie and the cover is gorgeous.

vivastory One of my favorite covers this year 7y
batsy Is that one by Tilted Axis too, if I'm not mistaken? Their covers are so stunning. 7y
CherylDeFranceschi @batsy It's Graywolf Press. 7y
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CherylDeFranceschi @vivastory Have you read it yet? 7y
vivastory @CherylDeFranceschi Not yet, I'm thinking it'll definitely be on my June tbr though 7y
Cinfhen That cover is stunning but the book sounds dark!!! Can't wait to hear your review 7y
LeahBergen This sounds freaky! 👍🏼 7y
Moray_Reads Ooh, I'm intrigued... 7y
DiruVamp Im about halfway through this one and it is odd haha 7y
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susanw
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You know, just a typical Saturday night. Also, I know nothing about this book, but I am deeply in love with the cover.

TobeyTheScavengerMonk Whoa. Sounds heavy. 7y
WordWaller This book is so strange but so good! 7y
70 likes2 comments
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Thebookishpanda
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Nafiza
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When you are sick in bed and can't choose just one book to read, you read them both.

#currentlyreading

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kdwinchester
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Corgi approved. 💜🐾

Cinfhen Such a cool pretty cover, although I hear the story is dark.... 7y
Cinfhen 💗corgi 7y
Sace 😍😍😍 Such a sweet corgi face. 7y
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susanw I want this one, solely because of the cover!! 7y
OffTheBeatenShelf.com Totally just added this to my stack based on the cover alone. 7y
kdwinchester @OffTheBeatenShelf.com and @susanw lol! I totally did the same thing. ☺️ 7y
Bookchipmunk ❤️🐶 7y
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WordWaller
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Happy pub day to this beauty out now from @Graywolfpress 🎉❤️🎉 This book is a haunting, mesmerizing portrait of innocence, cruelty, and memory that is still sweeping me off my toes (I'm almost finished and it's a quick read at only 224 pages!). Probably going to give this one 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so don't miss out on this debut! I'm reading it for my debut slot in the Read Harder Challenge.

rachellayown I love that cover! 7y
TheLondonBookworm Ooooh yes please that sounds brilliant and it look beautiful 💙 7y
vivastory Thanks for posting, wasn't aware of this one. Sounds terrific! 7y
TheLadyHyatt I had just added this to my TBR last week, glad to hear your recommendation! 7y
ohyeahthatgirl Graywolf has never let me down. Looks good! 7y
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WordWaller
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We've had a long day! Marching for equality and women's and the marginalized's rights today, partying on public transportation, then working a close at the bookstore. Yet somehow between last night and today I'm up to 5 hours so far! My goal is 12 👌 Anyway, Gil and I are exhausted after getting halfway through this amazing ARC today so we're going to zzzzzzz 😴😽 #24in48 #readathon #CatsofLitsy @24in48

Texreader What a day!!! And your cat: ❤️❤️❤️😻 7y
Joanne1 Amazing. 7y
Beachesnbooks Wow that's so impressive! And that book sounds amazing, how are you liking it? 7y
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WordWaller @Beachesnbooks omg it is so good!! Super super weird but beautiful prose. Definitely recommend it when it comes out March 7! 7y
RealBooks4ever You have the best cat! 😻😺😻 7y
Bette Thanks for marching. Relax like a cat today. ❤️🐱 7y
103 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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tolmsted
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Just started. Too early to make a judgement. But wanted to share this pretty cover.

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WordWaller
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Book mail alert! ? Thank you so much @Graywolfpress ! So proud of this local independent publisher and the work they're doing, and I'm so excited for this to come out March 2017! Women in translation, "fairy tale" in the title... what more do you need? "A fresh and terrifying exploration of the ethics of art making and of the stinging consequences of neglect." Sign me up!

AmbityScambity That cover is beautiful! 7y
Megabooks ❤️️❤️️ 7y
WordWaller @AmbityScambity right!?!? *swooning* 7y
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