About Daughter Author: [Korea] Jin Huizhen Translator: Jian Yuxuan Publisher: Guangxi Normal University Press Douban Top 10 Korean Literature Books

“I loved her. But I didn’t understand her.

Why did my daughter choose such a difficult life?

Why would you put yourself in a situation where you are hated and treated with hostility? "

★It is about my daughter, and also about everything about my mother, about the battle of understanding between mother and daughter, between people, and about the "various" us.

The mother's expectations are about "normality", while the daughter's expectations are about "freedom"; the mother often regards her daughter as an extension of her own life, but the daughter no longer wants to live like her mother...

— "Why did the child born from my flesh and blood become the person who is farthest away from me and whom I cannot understand?"

—"Mom, can't you accept me for who I am? Didn't you say that there are all kinds of people in the world? Didn't you say that being different from others doesn't mean it's a bad thing? Isn't that what mom said? Why do these words become an exception for me!"

The monologue of an ordinary mother evokes the common fears that we, as daughters, have experienced and the understanding we are still waiting for; the rebellious daughter's questions question all labels and prejudices, and also question the "misogyny" narrative of the entire society.

To all the "bad daughters" out there, and the good mothers struggling to understand.

★The most anticipated work about East Asian women after "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982", winner of the Shin Dong-ye Literature Award, and highly recommended by the four major mainstream media in South Korea!

Following "Kim Ji-young", a new wave of reading and discussion of Korean women's literature has been set off again.

YES24, one of the three major online bookstores in South Korea, has selected the “Annual Works Selected by Literary Writers” and “Books of the Year on the Literary Bestseller List”; and Baojiaobunko, the largest chain bookstore in South Korea, has selected the “Annual Recommended Writers”.

★ "Even if we put aside the stories about women, this type of work can still attract readers' attention because of its powerful narratives about marginalized groups in society, such as sexual minorities and lonely elderly people."

——Park Hye-jin, editor of the Korean edition of "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" and "About My Daughter"

From gender issues to workplace issues, from abandoned elderly people to exploited lower-class workers, the film reveals an East Asian society dominated by capital and prejudice, and the reality in which all of us live, from the perspective of ordinary people.

A man who went to a distant oil country to make money 30 years ago; a woman who can only make a living by wiping shit and urine in a nursing home after retirement; a real estate investment that can be blown in by wind and rain but can only repay the loan; a lecturer who was fired due to a temporary employment contract...

After the absence of men, three generations of women face aging, illness and loneliness in their own ways, tearing apart the false warmth of traditional East Asian families and achieving mutual assistance among women who break blood ties. Family cannot save loneliness, only love and understanding can.

★A self-portrait of a burning mother, a eulogy for a patriarchal family, and a history of acceptance of mutual love and mutual assistance among women across generations

The brave daughter who fought for the rights of her colleagues who suffered injustice never received any recognition; the independent woman who devoted her entire youth to the cause of international refugee children became a social outcast when she grew old.

No matter which generation they are in, women still experience the suffering brought by prejudice, old customs and "normal" and "completeness". But the women in the book all have the courage to face danger and the tenacity to bear the consequences of their own choices.

★This may be the first time in East Asian literature that a daughter of a "sexual minority" is written from the perspective of a lonely mother;

Breaking through the labels of "queer" and "feminism", a masterpiece that challenges traditions and boundaries!

★The mother's palm is also the daughter's body, from the inside out, it is full of breathing female flesh and blood

——New illustrators and well-known designers, ingenious design, dedicated presentation

The overall visual of "About Daughter" was designed by the well-known designer Xihe, using the works of the emerging illustrator Muchui. The textured brushstrokes, the quiet and powerful color palette, the mother's palm, is also the daughter's body, from the inside out, it is all breathing female flesh and blood.

【Content Introduction】

“I loved her. But I didn’t understand her.

Why did my daughter choose such a difficult life?

Why would you put yourself in a situation where you are hated and treated with hostility? "

As a mother, I have lived my whole life for my daughter and have many expectations for her. However, my daughter thinks that her mother never listens to her and even brings back a female partner, forcing her mother to accept that their future will deviate from the "normal".

At the same time, the mother saw that Ms. Jane, a patient in her care at the nursing home, had become a burden abandoned by the institution and society because of dementia. In Jane, the mother seemed to see herself going from loneliness to death in old age, and also saw the future of her daughter who could also face a similar tragedy...

Amid misunderstandings and tearing, and repeated attempts at dialogue and suturing, the mother and daughter are pushed forward by the power of the inner and outer worlds, gradually approaching each other...

【Media Recommendation】

The female sexual minority group can more clearly show the society dominated by prejudice.

——Dong-A Ilbo

While describing women exposed to disgust, rejection, violence and power, this book also focuses on understanding and growth. The mother in the book persists in understanding, not hoping that someone will understand her, but hoping that she can understand others.

——"Daily Economy"

This book sharply shows the violent mechanisms set up by Korean society against minority groups that already have a hard time gaining a foothold. By describing and depicting the process of a queer mother reaching "best understanding", we can see more possibilities for people to reach understanding with each other.

——Korea Daily

Everyone may be each other's past, present or future mother, because "unrelated outsiders" do not actually exist. Perhaps with this power, we can finally move towards the step of "miraculous understanding."

——Kim Shin Hyun-kyung (Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of East Asian Studies, Free University of Berlin)

While people are busy arguing about "queer" and feminism, this book has transcended "concepts" and "boundaries" to become a masterpiece.

——Kang Young-sook (Korean writer)

The protagonists in the novel are not "mainstream" mothers portrayed with unconditional love and sacrifice, and the daughters do not show their mothers excessive understanding and comfort. Under the identity of mother and daughter, they are just ordinary people, with their own troubles and lives.

——Moon Yun-kang (Korean writer)

Ordinary life may be difficult, but what is difficult is not life itself, but the examination of the standard of "who sets the standard of ordinary". This book not only shows the prejudice suffered by disadvantaged groups, but also the reality we are all living in at this moment.

——Jinjiang Daily

Kim Hye Jin

Born in Daegu, South Korea in 1983.

In 2013, he won the 5th "Central Novel Literature Award" for his novel "Central Station".

In 2018, she won the 36th "Shin Dong-ye Literature Award" for "About Daughter", which became the most popular Korean women's novel after "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982".

In 2020, he once again won the 28th "Dashan Literature Award" with "The Work of No. 9" (Simplified Chinese version to be published).