'Stunning ... Lee is a master at storytelling' Lyn Liao Butler author of Red Thread of Fate At
the Golden Sunset retirement home it is not unusual for residents to invent stories. So when
elderly Ms Mook first begins to unspool her memories the obituarist listening to her is
sceptical. Stories of captivity friendship murder adventure assumed identities and spying.
Stories that take place in WWII Indonesia in Busan during the Korean war in cold-war
Pyongyang in China. The stories are so colourful and various at times so unbelievable that
they cannot surely all belong to the same woman. Can they? As playful and thought-provoking as
it is compelling as brutal and harrowing as it is achingly poignant and tender this is a
novel about love and war deceit and betrayal about identity storytelling and the trickery
required for survival. '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
'An unforgettable character and a bold inventive narrative that takes us through history.
Astonishing compassionate and ambitious' Krys Lee How I Became a North Korean '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' Melissa Fu author of Peach Blossom
Spring _____________ Mirinae Lee was born and raised in South Korea and now lives in Hong
Kong. Her first work of fiction appeared in the Antioch Review and was listed as Notable
Nonrequired Reading of 2018 in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019. Her second short
story won the 2018 Editors' Prize in Fiction and appeared in Meridian. 8 Lives of a Century-Old
Trickster is her debut novel.
