Winter in Sokcho

by Elisa Shua Dusapin

Book Overview

-BUILDING ON SUCCESS: Amazing review coverage for the UK edition of the book, despite coming out in the middle of COVID-19

-FOR FANS OF: Sayaka Murata, Marguerite Duras, and Han Kang. The novel is understated, lyric, emotional, and haunting, and establishes Dusapin as one of the preeminent up-and-coming young female writers of our time.

-AUTHOR BACKSTORY: Born in France to a French father and Korean mother, Dusapin currently lives in Switzerland, writing in French about South Korea. This multi-nationalism will appeal to a lot of readers, and adds a depth to her depiction of Korean life.

-A PUNCHY, QUICK READ: This book can-and frequently will-be read in a single sitting, given how compelling and fast-paced it is.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1948830418
• ISBN13: 9781948830416
• Release Date: April 2021
• Publisher: Open Letter
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.9" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

I don’t like this edition.

Okay, let me preface this by saying I just got the copy and so this review is not based on the content of the book but on the production of the book itself, and that I can also be annoyingly nitpicky about the books I choose to buy. I have a limited budget I’m working with and I don’t often try to get books new unless they’re new enough that it’s hard to find used. Even then, I try to resort to using the library first. So when I choose to buy a book new, I like it to look decent, not just design-wise but production-wise as well. This edition by Open Letter Books looks cheap. That was the word that stood out to me when I fished it from the package. Especially when you look at that National Book Award badge pasted on top of the cover. It looks like the graphics for the cover were made for a smaller form factor so they had to enlarge it but the resolution wasn’t high enough so it looks slightly off. The back graphics definitely looks a little skewed. It may also be the texture of the cover, it feels very soft and the ink looks less sharp than it would be. In addition, and this is a matter of preference, the print and the spacing are large. Which I hate and I avoid it where I can. And what’s most annoying is I could’ve gotten the Daunt Books edition for around the same price! I hate that I’m dunking on a smaller publishing company but if I find a significantly better quality book for a similar price, I can’t help regretting what my money could’ve gotten me instead.