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Modern Family
Forty-year-old In-mo, a movie director who's been jobless for the past decade decides to move in with his widowed mother. His older brother, with five criminal convictions, has already moved back. Then younger sister Mi-yeon arrives with her bratty, rebellious fifteen-year-old daughter. Mom is delighted to have her entire dysfunctional family back again, but what ensues is both comic and frightening.
Fast-paced and imaginative, Modern Family introduces English-speaking readers to a bright new voice in world literature.
Cheon Myeong-Kwan won the Tenth Munhakdongne Novel Award for The Queen of Red Bricks. Modern Family has been made into a movie in Korea.
Fast-paced and imaginative, Modern Family introduces English-speaking readers to a bright new voice in world literature.
Cheon Myeong-Kwan won the Tenth Munhakdongne Novel Award for The Queen of Red Bricks. Modern Family has been made into a movie in Korea.
- GenresAsian LiteratureFiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2010
4 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Myeong-kwan Cheon
8 books98 followersCheon Myeong-kwan is a South Korean novelist, screenwriter and director whose work has been translated into eight languages.
Upon publication of the author’s first story, Frank and I (2003), he received the prestigious Munhakdongne New Writer Award. Cheon’s debut novel, Whale, was published the following year. It won the 10th Munhakdongne Novel Award and has become one of the most loved novels in South Korea, where it is regarded as a modern classic.
Associated Names:
* Cheon Myeong-Kwan
* 천명관 (Korean Profile)
Upon publication of the author’s first story, Frank and I (2003), he received the prestigious Munhakdongne New Writer Award. Cheon’s debut novel, Whale, was published the following year. It won the 10th Munhakdongne Novel Award and has become one of the most loved novels in South Korea, where it is regarded as a modern classic.
Associated Names:
* Cheon Myeong-Kwan
* 천명관 (Korean Profile)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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June 30, 2021Nu sunt familiarizat nici cu literatura coreeana in particular, nici cu cultura coreeana in general, drept urmare nu pot spune cat de coreeana si moderna este familia din carte. Pot spune doar ca m-am atasat de personaje, nu doar de personajul-principal, naratorul, ci si de fratele sau masiv si infractor, Barosul.
Mi-a placut si scriitura, mi-a placut cat de alerta era o carte altfel de familie. O recomand, chiar daca nu este chiar genul meu. E drept, are si o picatura de thriller in ea.
Mi-a placut si scriitura, mi-a placut cat de alerta era o carte altfel de familie. O recomand, chiar daca nu este chiar genul meu. E drept, are si o picatura de thriller in ea.
November 14, 2024
Po przeczytaniu trzech czwartych jednak wysiadam z tego mizoginicznego wehikułu. Cały czas czekałam na objawienie, coś, co pozwoli mi zrozumieć, co czytam, ale się nie doczekałam. Podobno jest to czarna komedia, tyle, że zupełnie nic mnie tu nie śmieszyło. Bohaterowie, których autor wtłoczył do niewielkiego mieszkania, budzą na przemian obrzydzenie i politowanie, najgorszy jest jednak narrator: incel, truteń i przegryw, który manipuluje ludźmi wokół siebie i czytelnikiem. Nie wiem, dlaczego ta książka powstała.
August 12, 2015
Just like the title says. A warm, entertaining story about a modern (though not particularly typical) Korean family. The ending was a little more of a roller coaster than I was ready for but I made it to the very last page!
April 10, 2013
It is an easy read, though Cheon surely made his characters' lives as discomforting as possible. The hint of somewhat of happy ending seems quite obvious and apparent from the start. The book is at best. If any, a great quality of the book is the distinctive narrating texture that Cheon offers in every single book by him. I was rather disappointed, then again I guess I could have expected too much from him after being marveled by the absolute amazingness of My Uncle Bruce Lee.
The problem with Korean literature is that the writers hesitate to bring a huge drama or a powerful climax into the storyline. They bring small, mildly obscene incidents that seem reasonably realistic. I may say that the writers are prisoning themselves with the bars of realism. Though I understand that the neutralized mockery of reality does leave vivid smudges on the readers' mind, I insist that the writers should challenge themselves with what is surreal.
The story would make a great film, and I hear that the movie based on the book is coming out.
The problem with Korean literature is that the writers hesitate to bring a huge drama or a powerful climax into the storyline. They bring small, mildly obscene incidents that seem reasonably realistic. I may say that the writers are prisoning themselves with the bars of realism. Though I understand that the neutralized mockery of reality does leave vivid smudges on the readers' mind, I insist that the writers should challenge themselves with what is surreal.
The story would make a great film, and I hear that the movie based on the book is coming out.
April 27, 2016
Disons 2,5/3 mais Goodreads ne permet pas vraiment d'affiner les notes.
Des bonnes choses, certaines déroutantes mais vraiment pas désagréables, entre burlesque, cocasse et absurde, mais pas déjanté du tout. On sort des sentiers battus et le voyage est original et très dépaysant, j'avais l'impression d'un roman plus coréen que ce que j'ai pu lire jusqu'à présent dans le domaine, d'être plus proche de leur culture, de leur langage, d'être plongée au coeur de la vraie Corée, mais le plaisir de lecture ne fut pas à la hauteur de ce que j'en espérais (au moins un 4 - j'attendais peut-être plus de déjanté, genre OLNI), d'où mon "plus 2 que 3"...
Des bonnes choses, certaines déroutantes mais vraiment pas désagréables, entre burlesque, cocasse et absurde, mais pas déjanté du tout. On sort des sentiers battus et le voyage est original et très dépaysant, j'avais l'impression d'un roman plus coréen que ce que j'ai pu lire jusqu'à présent dans le domaine, d'être plus proche de leur culture, de leur langage, d'être plongée au coeur de la vraie Corée, mais le plaisir de lecture ne fut pas à la hauteur de ce que j'en espérais (au moins un 4 - j'attendais peut-être plus de déjanté, genre OLNI), d'où mon "plus 2 que 3"...
May 1, 2010
We have always expected something better to lie ahead with hope. However situation now always doesn't seem to satisfy our expectation, and we just have the fractured hope. Love your reality now, and you'll be happier now.
November 28, 2018
Very easy to read. I like the characters. Ending is little bit weak though.
November 10, 2023
I guess I really like this authors style cuz I also loved Whale. This book answered some of my questions about Whale as well.
Myeong-Kwan uses intense violence in the later part of this plots in both books
He also does seem to have differing opinions than me about gender.
The middle of Whale and this book were a little bit of a sludge but the endings and particularly the last scenes moved me.
Both books effectively approach big concept questions
The plot was great. It was aimless but engaging and I couldn’t tell what he was doing until the end
The main character was done well
Myeong-Kwan uses intense violence in the later part of this plots in both books
He also does seem to have differing opinions than me about gender.
The middle of Whale and this book were a little bit of a sludge but the endings and particularly the last scenes moved me.
Both books effectively approach big concept questions
The plot was great. It was aimless but engaging and I couldn’t tell what he was doing until the end
The main character was done well
November 3, 2023
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May 2, 2016
Dark, yet entertaining, this novel read like a movie and felt like it had everything - action, drama, comedy, and tragedy. Initially the premise didn't grip me but glad I picked it up for our book club as I've had the chance to experience a new genre outside of my usual scope.
July 14, 2024
3.5 rounded up. An entertaining read. Gives the lie to Tolstoy’s ‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way’. Maybe not literally but there’s plenty of commonality.
Interesting too from a stylistic development perspective.
Interesting too from a stylistic development perspective.
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June 6, 2015It's completely impossible to rate the book of someone you were in love with. It made me laugh and feel pretty sad - was that the book or the intermingling of story and memory?
September 21, 2025
Watch a career roundup of Cheon Myeong kwan on YouTube here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRNe3...
March 26, 2018
"Clasping a lighter in one's hands allows more solid punches." gotta remember that.
February 13, 2019
Funny & trash.
January 24, 2026
With no strength left in her, Mi-yeon collapsed to the floor and wept bitterly. "I should just set fire to this house so we can all die together."
Oh, how I wish you had, Mi-yeon. How I wish you had.
The only thing I really liked about this book was its hyperrealism (at times), and its gossiping neighbours. Every single person in this book is a misogynist and creep, and then you've got a rapist and weirdo who jerks off to his 15-year-old niece's cartoon underwear. Wtf. Oh, and, you get the r-slur in the first chapter.
As I kept reading, I began to think we weren't meant to see any good in the characters at all—they're 3 middle-aged slobs who leech onto their elderly mother, who's the sole cook and provider for them, and I genuinely thought we were going to see the story end in well-deserved tragedy, but that wasn't so. The characters suddenly changed way too abruptly and too close to the ending.
The filth the male protagonist thinks up a steady stream of is... to say the least, disturbing, and it makes total sense he's obsessed with Hemingway. The author probably knew what they were doing with that.
Sigh. I was looking forward to this read, and was utterly disappointed. I will NOT be picking up any other books by Myeong-kwan Cheon.
Oh, how I wish you had, Mi-yeon. How I wish you had.
The only thing I really liked about this book was its hyperrealism (at times), and its gossiping neighbours. Every single person in this book is a misogynist and creep, and then you've got a rapist and weirdo who jerks off to his 15-year-old niece's cartoon underwear. Wtf. Oh, and, you get the r-slur in the first chapter.
As I kept reading, I began to think we weren't meant to see any good in the characters at all—they're 3 middle-aged slobs who leech onto their elderly mother, who's the sole cook and provider for them, and I genuinely thought we were going to see the story end in well-deserved tragedy, but that wasn't so. The characters suddenly changed way too abruptly and too close to the ending.
The filth the male protagonist thinks up a steady stream of is... to say the least, disturbing, and it makes total sense he's obsessed with Hemingway. The author probably knew what they were doing with that.
Sigh. I was looking forward to this read, and was utterly disappointed. I will NOT be picking up any other books by Myeong-kwan Cheon.
September 6, 2024
A more accurate rating: 3.5 stars
The novel has me conflicted because the least interesting character is the protagonist himself. Akin to Haruki Murakami's stencil for the narrative hero, In-mo is nothing but an average, middle-aged man who failed to achieve his resolutions. He is uninteresting, unmotivated, and most things happen to him (although he is tenfold more dynamic than Tooru Okada). When he does go about things, his pursuit falls rather flat and it is supportive characters that make the subject of the novel more alluring.
What roped me into reading the book was the prompt which promised a cast of characters and a plot similar to that of an obscure, almost absurd movie. And it was, indeed, absurd, just not in a way that I would enjoy it without any sort of complaint. If I were to assign the script of such a novel to a director with the goal of a cinematic adaptation, I would either go for Yorgos Lanthimos or Bong Joon-ho. I would see them giving the novel the unpredictable character it so desperately needed.
The novel has me conflicted because the least interesting character is the protagonist himself. Akin to Haruki Murakami's stencil for the narrative hero, In-mo is nothing but an average, middle-aged man who failed to achieve his resolutions. He is uninteresting, unmotivated, and most things happen to him (although he is tenfold more dynamic than Tooru Okada). When he does go about things, his pursuit falls rather flat and it is supportive characters that make the subject of the novel more alluring.
What roped me into reading the book was the prompt which promised a cast of characters and a plot similar to that of an obscure, almost absurd movie. And it was, indeed, absurd, just not in a way that I would enjoy it without any sort of complaint. If I were to assign the script of such a novel to a director with the goal of a cinematic adaptation, I would either go for Yorgos Lanthimos or Bong Joon-ho. I would see them giving the novel the unpredictable character it so desperately needed.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews