Elisa Shua Dusapin

It’s winter in Sokcho, a tourist town on the border between South and North Korea. The cold slows everything down. Bodies are red and raw, the fish turn venomous, beyond the beach guns point out from the North’s watchtowers. A young French Korean woman works as a receptionist in a tired guesthouse. One evening, an unexpected guest arrives: a French cartoonist determined to find inspiration in this desolate landscape.

The two form an uneasy relationship. When she agrees to accompany him on trips to discover an ‘authentic’ Korea, they visit snowy mountaintops and dramatic waterfalls, and cross into North Korea. But he takes no interest in the Sokcho she knows – the gaudy neon lights, the scars of war, the fish market where her mother works. As she’s pulled into his vision and taken in by his drawings, she strikes upon a way to finally be seen.

An exquisitely-crafted debut, which won the Prix Robert Walser, Winter in Sokcho is a novel about shared identities and divided selves, vision and blindness, intimacy and alienation. Elisa Shua Duspain’s voice is distinctive and unmistakable.

Winter in Sokcho

From the author of Winter in Sokcho, which won the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature. The days are beginning to draw in. The sky is dark by seven in the evening. I lie on the floor and gaze out of the window. Women's calves, men's shoes, heels trodden down by the weight of bodies borne for too long. It is summer in Tokyo. Claire finds herself dividing her time between tutoring twelve-year-old Mieko in an apartment in an abandoned hotel and lying on the floor at her grandparents: daydreaming, playing Tetris, and listening to the sounds from the street above. The heat rises; the days slip by. The plan is for Claire to visit Korea with her grandparents. They fled the civil war there over fifty years ago, along with thousands of others, and haven't been back since. When they first arrived in Japan, they opened Shiny, a pachinko parlour. Shiny is still open, drawing people in with its bright, flashing lights and promises of good fortune. And as Mieko and Claire gradually bond, their tender relationship growing, Mieko's determination to visit the pachinko parlour builds. The Pachinko Parlouris a nuanced and beguiling exploration of identity and otherness, unspoken histories, and the loneliness you can feel within a family. Crisp and enigmatic, Shua Dusapin's writing glows with intelligence.

The Pachinko Parlour

Aneesa Abbas Higgins

Pachinko Parlor

A Sokcho, petite ville portuaire proche de la Corée du Nord, une jeune Franco-coréenne qui n'est jamais allée en Europe rencontre un auteur de bande dessinée venu chercher l'inspiration loin de sa Normandie natale. C'est l'hiver, le froid ralentit tout, les poissons peuvent être venimeux, les corps douloureux, les malentendus suspendus, et l'encre coule sur le papier, implacable : un lien fragile se noue entre ces deux êtres aux cultures si différentes. Ce roman délicat comme la neige sur l'écume transporte le lecteur dans un univers d'une richesse et d'une originalité rares, à l'atmosphère puissante.

Hiver à Sokcho

The Pachinko Parlor

"Il avait griffonné un buste de femme cambrée, seins nus, pieds à demi cachés par la courbe d'une fesse. La respiration de Kerrand s'est accélérée au rythme de son coup de plume. Il a fait couler toute l'encre du pot, la femme a titubé, cherché à crier encore, mais le noir s'est glissé entre ses lèvres jusqu'à ce qu'elle disparaisse". A Sokcho, petite ville portuaire proche de la Corée du Nord, une jeune femme rêve d'ailleurs dans une pension modeste. Chaque jour, elle cuisine pour les rares visiteurs venus s'isoler du monde. L'arrivée d'un Français, auteur de bandes-dessinées, vient rompre la monotonie de l'hiver. Ils s'observent, se frôlent, et à mesure que l'encre coule, un lien fragile naît entre ces deux êtres aux cultures si différentes, en quête d'absolu.

A Vladivostok, dans l'enceinte désertée d'un cirque entre deux saisons, un trio s'entraîne à la barre russe. Nino pourrait être le fils d'Anton, à eux deux, ils font voler Anna. Ils se préparent au concours international d'Oulan-Oude, visent quatre triples sauts périlleux sans descendre de la barre. Si Anna ne fait pas confiance aux porteurs, elle tombe au risque de ne plus jamais se relever. Dans l'odeur tenace d'animaux pourtant absents, la lumière se fait toujours plus pâle, et les distances s'amenuisent à mesure que le récit accélère.Dans ce troisième roman, Elisa Shua Dusapin convoque son art du silence, de la tension et de la douceur avec des images qui nous rendent le monde plus perceptible sans pour autant en trahir le secret. (Payot).

Vladivostok Circus

Après quinze ans d’éloignement, Agathe, scénariste à New York, retrouve Véra, sa cadette aphasique, dans la bâtisse du Périgord où elles ont grandi. Elles ont neuf jours pour la vider. Les pierres des murs anciens serviront à restaurer le pigeonnier voisin, ravagé par un incendie vieux d’un siècle. Véra a changé, Agathe découvre une femme qui cuisine avec agilité, a pris soin de leur père jusqu’à son décès, et rétorque à sa sœur « Humour SVP » grâce à son smartphone dont elle lui tend l’écran. C’est dans une campagne minérale qu’Elisa Shua Dusapin installe son quatrième roman, peut-être le plus personnel à ce jour. À travers un regard précis et sans peur, empreint de douceur, elle confronte la violence des sentiments entre deux sœurs que le silence a séparées.

Le vieil incendie

Sokcoda Kis

Sokcho é a paisagem imóvel, a folha em branco sobre a qual será desenhado inquietante relacionamento entre a recepcionista de uma pousada decadente e um cartunista francês, que chegara ao balneário em busca de inspiração. É inverno, e o frio desacelera tudo: as acomodações estão calmas, as ruas, vazias e úmidas e os mal-entendidos, suspensos. A tinta escorre sobre o papel, implacável. Um vínculo frágil se estabelece entre esses dois seres de culturas tão distintas. Juntos, os dois partem em pequenas viagens de reconhecimento da paisagem desolada. À medida que se apresentam os traços desse encontro, revelam-se passados, comportamento se desejos, como obstáculos para o reconhecimento puro e simples. Este romance, delicado como neve sobre espuma, transporta o leitor para um universo de rara riqueza e originalidade, com uma atmosfera poderosa. Em seu premiado livro de estreia, Elisa Shua Dusapin apresenta ao leitor cenários e costumes de um lugar ao mesmo tempo estranho e familiar, como as pessoas. E personagens que merecem ser explorados, como os lugares.

Inverno em Sokcho

„Ein Winter in Sokcho ist ein kleines Meisterwerk." Jury Robert Walser Preis. Im eiskalten Sokcho, einem Küstenort kurz vor Nordkorea, begegnen sie sich: die junge Angestellte der Pension und der Künstler aus der Normandie. Während er die Stille von Sokcho zum Zeichnen sucht, möchte sie ihr entfliehen. Mit jedem Gespräch, jedem Spaziergang durch das winterliche Nirgendwo kommen die beiden einander näher. Zwei Gestrandete, die sich nach einem Neuanfang sehnen und ihn jeder auf seine Weise wagen. „Ein erster Roman von einzigartiger Schönheit.“ Le Figaro Littéraire.

Roman

Ein Winter in Sokcho

»Poetisch, zart und geheimnisvoll.« Jury des National Book Awards for Translated Literature 2021. Claire, eine junge Schweizerin, verbringt den Sommer in Tokio bei ihren Großeltern. Sie möchte mit den beiden eine letzte große Reise unternehmen – nach Korea, ihrer Heimat. Seit dem Krieg sind sie nicht mehr dort gewesen. Der Großvater betreibt nun in Tokio ein Pachinko, eine Spielhalle mit Flipperautomaten, die ihm sehr ans Herz gewachsen ist. Während die Alten die Reise immer wieder aufschieben, betreut Claire die kleine Mieko – ein japanisches Mädchen, das allein mit seiner Mutter lebt. Es ist der Beginn einer außergewöhnlichen Freundschaft ... Elisa Shua Dusapin erzählt meisterhaft von den Generationen und von der Sehnsucht nach Heimat.

Die Pachinko-Kugeln

Tras quince años separadas, Agathe, guionista en Nueva York, vuelve a encontrarse con Véra, su hermana pequeña y afásica, en la casa familiar del Périgord en la que han crecido. Han acordado su venta y tienen nueve días para vaciar el lugar de objetos, muebles, ropa, libros. Las piedras de los muros antiguos servirán para restaurar el palomar vecino, devastado por un incendio que ocurrió hace más de un siglo. Véra se comunica con su hermana por escrito, mostrándole la pantalla del móvil. En esos días de reencuentro con el pasado, Agathe descubre que su hermana ha cambiado. Ella es quien ha cuidado de su padre hasta su muerte. Ahora es una mujer que cocina con agilidad, independiente, y Agathe no sabe bien cómo relacionarse con ella. La Dordoña francesa es el escenario de la cuarta novela de -Elisa Shua Dusapin, la más personal de la autora hasta la fecha. A través de una mirada precisa y certera, rebosante de dulzura, Dusapin nos habla de la memoria familiar y de la violencia de los sentimientos entre dos hermanas que el tiempo y el silencio había separado.

El viejo incendio

Nathalie arrives at the circus in Vladivostok, Russia, fresh out of fashion school in Geneva. She is there to design the costumes for a trio of artists who are due to perform one of the most dangerous acts of all- the Russian Bar. As winter approaches, the season at Vladivostok is winding down, leaving the windy port city empty as the performers rush off to catch trains, boats, and buses home; all except the Russian bar trio and their manager. They are scheduled to perform at a festival in Ulan Ude, just before Christmas. What ensues is an intimate and beguiling account of four people learning to work with and trust one another. This is a book about the delicate balance that must be achieved when flirting with death in such spectacular fashion, set against the backdrop of a cloudy ocean and immersing the reader in Dusapin's trademark dreamlike prose. 'Frames human understanding as a series of leaps and falls, as we swoop, somersault, twist, and turn to make ourselves understood. Dusapin has perfected the art of these spare, inward-looking novellas.' -Financial Times 'Dusapin's beautiful prose, with imagery both metallic and mineral, insinuates its way towards a delicate empathy between the generations, as well as examining the confusion that comes with dual nationality, and the lifetime loss that is exile.' -Irish Times 'A quiet, meditative story of shared endeavour. Though gentle, its emotional complexity means it is Dusapin's most accomplished work yet ... Dusapin deftly conveys the way intimacy and routine are established, physical space shared, and how moments of creativity and connection occur ... Vladivostok Circusis about people trying to work and create together and the solidarity and friendship that shared endeavour can foster.' -The Guardian

From National Book Award–winning Elisa Shua Dusapin, a subtle yet powerful portrayal of family, secrets, and silence set against the backdrop of a crumbling house in the French countryside—perfect for readers of Katie Kitamura and Elena Ferrante. “A bewitching meditation on tenderness and violence, intimacy and estrangement, The Old Fire will transport you to an ancient and wild place, immersing you in its temperatures and rainfalls, its grief and grace and sound and silence. You won’t be the same when you leave it.” —Tess Gunty, National Book Award–winning author of The Rabbit Hutch Through the window, I can see a light inside. Agathe leaves New York and returns to her home in the French countryside, after fifteen years away. She and her sister Véra have not seen each other in all those years, and they carry the weight of their own complicated lives. But now their father has died, and they must confront their childhood home on the outskirts of a country estate ravaged by a nearby fire before it is knocked down. They have nine days to empty it. As the pair clean and sift through a lifetime’s worth of belongings, old memories, and resentments surface. Tender and tense, haunting and evocative, The Old Fire is Elisa Shua Dusapin’s most personal and moving novel yet. An exploration of time and memory, of family and belonging, it is also a graceful and profound look at the unsaid and the unanswered, the secrets that remain, and whether you can ever really go home again. “A touching, mysterious novel, imbued with the beauty and strangeness of a fairy tale.” —Aysegül Savas, author of The Anthropologists “Dusapin has a rare and ferocious gift for pinning the quick, slippery, liveness of feeling to the page: Her talent is a thrill to behold.” —Alexandra Kleeman, author of You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine

A Novel

The Old Fire

Claire está a punto de cumplir treinta años y con la llegada del verano, decide ir a pasar una temporada con sus abuelos maternos en Tokio y acompañarlos en un viaje a su Corea natal, que abandonaron cuando comenzó la guerra civil y a donde nunca han regresado. En Tokio, Claire se reencontrará con los recuerdos de su infancia y con un país donde no puede evitar sentirse una extraña. De sus abuelos la separan la distancia generacional y el idioma: ella ha olvidado el coreano y su abuela se niega a hablar japonés. Además, se ocupará de cuidar de Mieko, una niña japonesa a la que enseña francés. La delicadeza y la precisión de la escritura de Dusapin reúnen en esta historia, evocadora y aparentemente sencilla, temas de enorme complejidad como las relaciones familiares, la herencia -cultural, el sentido de pertenencia y la migración. El salón de pachinko es una novela sutil, llena de silencios e imágenes que revelan con dulzura y desgarro el complejo paisaje interior del desarraigo.

El salón de pachinko

From the author of Winter in Sokcho, which won the 2021 National Book Award for Translated Literature. The days are beginning to draw in. The sky is dark by seven in the evening. I lie on the floor and gaze out of the window. Women’s calves, men’s shoes, heels trodden down by the weight of bodies borne for too long. It is summer in Tokyo. Claire finds herself dividing her time between tutoring twelve-year-old Mieko in an apartment in an abandoned hotel and lying on the floor at her grandparents: daydreaming, playing Tetris, and listening to the sounds from the street above. The heat rises; the days slip by. The plan is for Claire to visit Korea with her grandparents. They fled the civil war there over fifty years ago, along with thousands of others, and haven’t been back since. When they first arrived in Japan, they opened Shiny, a pachinko parlour. Shiny is still open, drawing people in with its bright, flashing lights and promises of good fortune. And as Mieko and Claire gradually bond, their tender relationship growing, Mieko’s determination to visit the pachinko parlour builds. The Pachinko Parlour is a nuanced and beguiling exploration of identity and otherness, unspoken histories, and the loneliness you can feel within a family. Crisp and enigmatic, Shua Dusapin’s writing glows with intelligence.

Elisa Shua Dusapin

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