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일곱시 삼십이분 코끼리 열차
The Seven Thirty-two Elephant Train, a collection of short stories by Hwang Jung-eun, depicts the lives of those who live in the margins of society and are pushed over the edge of the “city fence” while the rich and the powerful do nothing but make excuses. The stories are told in fading voices—faint voices buried in the glamorous noise of the city; the groans of countless people muffled by the sound of cell phones and television; pained voices that make you want to close your ears in agony. The homeless, the vagrant, and the abandoned child speak out freely in these stories.
The protagonists of Hwang’s stories are as follows. In “Hat,” three siblings must move around often because their father turns into a hat anytime, anywhere. The father turns into this inanimate object when he loses his job, when he can’t buy so much as a radio for his children, when he fails to mediate between his mother and his wife, and so on. He even turns into a hat after running to a police station to report a man who sexually assaulted his daughter, feeling helpless when government authorities pay no attention to the protests of a civil petitioner. In “The Door,” the protagonist, “m,” has a door on his back, one that’s invisible to other people; in “Roly Poly and Thrush,” a bank clerk shrinks and turns into a roly poly;the strange pet in “Living with Gokdo” speaks human language and evaluates its owner, who is at its service. In the title story, “The Seven Thirty-two Elephant Train,” an allusion is made between domestic abuse and the inhumanity of zoos. The protagonist of this story, abused by his uncle, creates another ego for himself and splits into two personalities. The conversations between the two different egos, schizophrenic and illogical, are reminiscent of Ionesco’s theater of the absurd.
The collection contains eleven short stories armed with Hwang’s unique humor and spirit. Her works, while touching upon the pain and sorrows of everyday life, are light and cheerful. The tone is also apathetic, gruff, indifferent. Hwang’s fantasy, touching everyday life, reveals the reality of the actual world.
The protagonists of Hwang’s stories are as follows. In “Hat,” three siblings must move around often because their father turns into a hat anytime, anywhere. The father turns into this inanimate object when he loses his job, when he can’t buy so much as a radio for his children, when he fails to mediate between his mother and his wife, and so on. He even turns into a hat after running to a police station to report a man who sexually assaulted his daughter, feeling helpless when government authorities pay no attention to the protests of a civil petitioner. In “The Door,” the protagonist, “m,” has a door on his back, one that’s invisible to other people; in “Roly Poly and Thrush,” a bank clerk shrinks and turns into a roly poly;the strange pet in “Living with Gokdo” speaks human language and evaluates its owner, who is at its service. In the title story, “The Seven Thirty-two Elephant Train,” an allusion is made between domestic abuse and the inhumanity of zoos. The protagonist of this story, abused by his uncle, creates another ego for himself and splits into two personalities. The conversations between the two different egos, schizophrenic and illogical, are reminiscent of Ionesco’s theater of the absurd.
The collection contains eleven short stories armed with Hwang’s unique humor and spirit. Her works, while touching upon the pain and sorrows of everyday life, are light and cheerful. The tone is also apathetic, gruff, indifferent. Hwang’s fantasy, touching everyday life, reveals the reality of the actual world.
296 pages, Paperback
Published June 26, 2008
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About the author
Hwang Jungeun
12 books88 followersHwang Jung Eun is a South Korean writer and podcast celebrity.
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