North Station

A writer struggles to come to terms with the death of her beloved mentor; the staging of an experimental play goes awry; time freezes for 2 lovers on a platform, waiting for the train that will take one of them away; a woman living in a foreign country discovers she has been issued the wrong ID.Emotionally haunting & intellectually stimulating, the seven stories in North Station represent the range & power of Suah's distinctive voice & style, which delights in digressions, multiple storylines, and sudden ruptures of societal norms. Heavily influenced by the German authors she's read & translated, Bae's stories combine elements of Korean & European storytelling in a way that's unforgettable & mesmerizing.Bae Suah was born in Seoul in 1965. After majoring in chemistry as an undergrad, she became a writer at the relatively late age of 28. Her first short story, which she wrote while learning how to type on a word processor, was published in a literary magazine. Prior to that, she had never taken any creative writing or literature classes. Highway with Green Apples, published in Korean in 1995 & published in the Day One journal in December 2013 in English, is one of her first works. Bae continued to publish over the years, & in 2001 she moved to Berlin, where she took a break from writing to learn German. In 2008, she began translating German literature into Korean, beginning with Martin Walser’s Angstblute. Suah has also translated two works by W. G. Sebald, one of her favorite German writers (Nach der Natur: Ein Elementargedicht & Schwindel. Gefüehle, both forthcoming). She is also a fan of the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa & is currently translating The Book of Disquiet.Deborah Smith is a literary translator

"Bae dissolves conventional ¬linear narrative, as though it were impossible for cause and effect to exist concurrently with such repression." —Joanna Walsh, The National

A writer struggles to come to terms with the death of her beloved mentor; the staging of an experimental play goes awry; time freezes for two lovers on a platform, waiting for the train that will take one of them away; a woman living in a foreign country discovers she has been issued the wrong ID.

Emotionally haunting and intellectually stimulating, the seven stories in North Station represent the range and power of Bae Suah's distinctive voice and style, which delights in digressions, multiple storylines, and sudden ruptures of societal norms. Heavily influenced by the German authors she's read and translated, Bae's stories combine elements of Korean and European storytelling in a way that's unforgettable and mesmerizing.

Bae Suah, one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary Korean authors, has published more than a dozen short story collections and novels, and has won a number of prestigious awards. She has also translated several books from the German, including works by W. G. Sebald, Franz Kafka, and Jenny Erpenbeck. Her novel Nowhere to Be Found was longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize and the Best Translated Book Awards.

Deborah Smith has translated two other books by Bae (Recitation and A Greater Music) and won the Man Booker International Prize for her translation of Han Kang's The Vegetarian. She is the founder of Tilted Axis Press.

"Bae dissolves conventional ¬linear narrative, as though it were impossible for cause and effect to exist concurrently with such repression." —Joanna Walsh, The National A writer struggles to come to terms with the death of her beloved mentor; the staging of an experimental play goes awry; time freezes for two lovers on a platform, waiting for the train that will take one of them away; a woman living in a foreign country discovers she has been issued the wrong ID. Emotionally haunting and intellectually stimulating, the seven stories in North Station represent the range and power of Bae Suah's distinctive voice and style, which delights in digressions, multiple storylines, and sudden ruptures of societal norms. Heavily influenced by the German authors she's read and translated, Bae's stories combine elements of Korean and European storytelling in a way that's unforgettable and mesmerizing. Bae Suah , one of the most highly acclaimed contemporary Korean authors, has published more than a dozen short story collections and novels, and has won a number of prestigious awards. She has also translated several books from the German, including works by W. G. Sebald, Franz Kafka, and Jenny Erpenbeck. Her novel Nowhere to Be Found was longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize and the Best Translated Book Awards. Deborah Smith has translated two other books by Bae ( Recitation and A Greater Music ) and won the Man Booker International Prize for her translation of Han Kang's The Vegetarian . She is the founder of Tilted Axis Press.