8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster
Publisher,Harper Perennial US
Publication Date,
Format, Paperback
Weight,
No. of Pages, 304
Shelf: Fiction / Adult Fiction
Kindly ask our staff if you cannot locate the shelf.
“Fantastically original doesn’t begin to describe this exhilarating globe-spanning, decade-hopping masterpiece. Lee has achieved the impossible—from a fractured century of agonies and betrayals, she has woven a novel of immense beauty and regeneration.” —Junot Díaz, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Longlisted for the Women's Prize in Fiction.
Shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing
Longlisted for the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, Best Published Novel
Joining the acclaimed ranks of Pachinko and A Woman is No Man, a riveting and genre-bending debut of love and survival, set in the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea.
Life near the North Korean border is a zero-sum game, an ongoing battle in which you either win or you lose. This dangerous, shadowed netherworld is home to an unforgettable woman known only as the “trickster.”
Inspired by the story of Lee’s great aunt, one of the oldest women to escape alone from North Korea, 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster consists of eight dark and spellbinding chapters that follow this remarkable character and her family as they struggle to survive during the most turbulent times of modern Korean history. Mirinae Lee’s trickster is a shapeshifter—throughout the course of these interconnected chapters she is a slave, an escape artist, a murderer, a terrorist, a spy, a lover, and a mother—a woman who must often choose the unthinkable to survive war and conquest in Korea. Her story is a beguiling, complex tale of love and survival that will keep you riveted—and speculating—until the very end thanks to Lee’s brilliant talent for sleight of hand.
A fascinating look at survival, trauma, and family, 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster is an incredible literary debut from a bright new talent.
About the Author
Mirinae Lee was born and grew up in Seoul. Her short fiction has appeared in the Antioch Review, Meridian, Black Warrior Review, Pleiades, Shenandoah, and the Massachusetts Review. She lives in Hong Kong with her husband and children. 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster is her first novel.
Reviews
"Enthralling, captivating, tantalising ... keeps readers hooked" ―New York Times
"A gripping story set against the backdrop of Korea's turbulent history ... brilliant and original" ―Washington Post
"Seven accounts, told achronologically and ranging from 1938 to 2006, reveal a series of startling transformations involving cross-dressing, spying, identity theft, motherhood and murder ... A dazzling feat of narrative sophistication and historical invention" ―Financial Times
"A wild ride of a novel that embodies twentieth-century Korean history through the mesmerising, heartbreaking and deeply fractured personal history of one woman and her many incarnations." —Monica Ali
"A dazzling, visceral read. Intricately woven and playful, the prose has a brutal beating energy. At its heart is the fascinating Ms Mook, and the kaleidoscope of her life is a captivating history of Korea, a country torn apart." —Catherine Cho, author of Inferno
"In Mirinae Lee's 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster, a sly, flinty protagonist summons all of her charm to survive one hundred years of tumult, espionage, and war. I have never put so much trust in a verified liar. Part spy novel, part ode to storytelling, Lee's debut captivated and surprised me." —Alyssa Songsiridej, author of Little Rabbit
"Unflinching and tender, philosophical and mischievous, this playful novel conveys a sense of Korea's turbulent twentieth century through a charming, compelling protagonist who is not always a reliable narrator but who tells the truths that matter. I was captivated by Lee's masterful storytelling." —Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring
"Fantastically original doesn't begin to describe this exhilarating, globe-spanning, decade-hopping masterpiece. Lee has achieved the impossible – from a fractured century of agonies and betrayals, she has woven a novel of immense beauty and regeneration." —Junot Díaz
Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
