Won-Pyung Sohn

From the bestselling author of ALMOND, The Devil Wears Prada meets The Office in this witty, humane, and ultimately transformative story of a group of young workers who rebel against the status quo.

Jihye is an ordinary woman who has never been extraordinary. In her administrative job at the Academy, she silently tolerates office politics and the absurdities of Korean bureaucracy. Forever only one misplaced email away from career catastrophe, she effectively becomes a master of the silent eye-roll and the tactical coffee run. But all her efforts to endure her superiors and the semi-hostile work environment they create are upended when a new intern, Gyuok Lee, arrives.

Like a pacifist version of V in V for Vendetta, Gyuok recruits a trio of office allies to carry out plans for minor revenge. Together, these four “rebels” commit tiny protests against those in more powerful positions through spraying graffiti, throwing eggs, and writing anonymous exposés. But as their attacks increase, the initial joy they felt at the release becomes something more and Jihye and the others will discover the beauty of friendship and the extraordinary power of unity against adversity. 

Counterattacks at Thirty

Lindy

If l were a runner, I would be a faceless marathon runner in the middle of the pack. Lost in a crowd and headed toward a destination I can't see as my lungs desperately search for oxygen, I'm frantically shuffling my feet, doing my best just not to fall below the median line. But I think it's fortunate that this isn't particularly tragic, that I can sometimes form a confident smile on my face.

Perhaps the problem was a system that had worn her down slowly until it changed the way she thought about the world.

I might only be a speck of dust in the universe, but there's always the possibility that I might land somewhere and catch the light just right so that I become a beautiful rainbow. If that happens, I'll be the only one of my kind in the universe, without ever having screamed at the top of my lungs, claiming that I'm someone special.

Counterattacks at Thirty quotes

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