8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster

"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 Winner of the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing Longlisted for the Women's Prize in Fiction. 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.

Review :
"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 "A turbulent novel traversing decades of Korean history, 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster interrogates love, identity, betrayal, and everything it takes for one shape-shifting "trickster" to survive. Lee writes with sharp, ferocious energy, and I was riveted from the first page. An exquisitely accomplished debut." - Mira T. Lee, author of Everything Here Is Beautiful "Soaring, fierce, bold, and intoxicating, 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster draws an unforgettable portrait of a Korean woman navigating her place in the world over the course of almost a hundred years. Lives that have been ruptured by war, totalitarianism, and unexpected family discoveries are explored with razor-sharp insight and shimmering detail. The lies we tell, the particles of pleasure we find amidst the pain, and how deception and the power of storytelling can lead us to our truest selves are all explored with phenomenal skill. An absolutely astonishing work of art." - Marjan Kamali, author of The Stationery Shop and Together Tea "The atrocity and suffering interwoven in these pages tell the splintered history of war and violence in twentieth-century Korea that keeps me awake at night. Mirinae Lee unravels human intentions and actions with devastating details, reminding us of many hearts of darkness. What's most striking, however, is the trust invested in the power of storytelling. The interlocking lives in the novel read like scar tissues that reopen and close. A mutual understanding is established as we re-examine the wounds that won't heal until they find their voice, until we listen." - Kit Fan, author of Diamond Hill "Mirinae Lee has magically created a new literary form, one that deftly weaves political intrigue, lyrical narration, sensuous description, and subtle humour. In her heroine's tender, harrowing reclaiming of her traumatized body, the reader, too, finds healing. 8 Lives packs the spellbinding, page-turning punch of a spy thriller while quietly delivering the lilting insights of Carmen María Machado and Ocean Vuong. Lee's debut marks the arrival of a riveting new voice on the global literary stage." - Brittani Sonnenberg, author of Home Leave "An extraordinary literary experience ... 8 Lives is ultimately a story of survival, achieving intense beauty (violence and joy alike are poetically rendered), as well as a glimpse into the isolated culture of post-1950s North Korea. Fans of Pachinko will embrace this unusual but unforgettable story." - Historical Novels Society "A dazzling feat of storytelling ... It is a cracking good read, rich with social commentary and historical detail. ... With its finely chiseled prose and perfectly segueing vignettes of Grandma Mook's life, this is a novel that advances the art of short fiction." - Historical Novels Society, UK "An adventure novel, fueled by the same righteous anger that turns ordinary mortals into masked superheroes." - Wall Street Journal "An exquisitely accomplished debut." - Mira T. Lee, author of Everything Here Is Beautiful "Enticing, profound and deeply moving, a testament both to Lee's skill and the courage of her ancestor." - BookPage "A dazzling, visceral read." - Catherine Cho, author of Inferno