알려지지 않은 예술가의 눈물과 자이툰 파스타

by Sang Young Park, 박상영

2016년 단편 '패리스 힐튼을 찾습니다'로 문학동네신인상을 수상하며 그야말로 혜성처럼 등장해 뛰어난 소설적 재능을 마음껏 펼쳐 보이고 있는 '젊은 작가' 박상영의 첫 소설집이 출간되었다.

그는 등단작부터 "1990년대에 초기 김영하가 한국문학에 했던 역할을 21세기에 이 예비 작가에게 기대해도 좋겠다"(문학평론가 김형중), "다수의 사람들에게 공통적인 공감과 매력을 불러일으킬 것 같다"(소설가 정용준), "어쩐지 세번째 작품도, 네번째 작품도 이미 자신만의 스타일대로 쓸 준비가 되어 있는 것 같다"(소설가 윤고은)라는 평을 들으며 엄청난 작가적 역량을 지니고 있음을 짐작게 했다.

이후 특유의 리드미컬하고 유머러스한 문장으로 사회적인 문제와 소재들을 두려움 없이 작품들에 녹여내며, 표제작 '알려지지 않은 예술가의 눈물과 자이툰 파스타'로 2018년 젊은작가상을 수상하는 등 그 짐작이 사실이었음을 스스로 증명해내고 있다. 책에는 문학동네신인상 수상작 '패리스 힐튼을 찾습니다'를 포함해 모두 일곱 작품이 수록되어 있다.

Genres: Fiction, Queer

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2018

About the author

Sang Young Park was born in 1988 and studied French at Sungkyunkwan University. He worked as a magazine editor, copywriter, and consultant before debuting as a novelist. The title story of his bestselling short story collection, The Tears of an Unknown Artist, or Zaytun Pasta, was one of Words Without Borders’ most read pieces ever. He is the author of Booker International-longlisted Love in the Big City (translated by Anton Hur). He lives in Seoul.

Reviews

[Mika Suh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my type of novels, but it shows new trends of Korean novels. Gay storys have never been mainstreams in Korea, but many now consider this author's novels represent current 90s born generation's culture. Interesting.

[Hoong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a serialized web fiction entitled 'Tears Unknow, Artist Zaytum Pasta' in English. It was much shorter than Park's later work, 'Love in the Big City,' but bore the same treatment. It's a story of two college grads who met while deployed to Iraq and later returned back home to Korea. Neither of them was successful in their careers and was living a lower-middle-class life of drinking to the point of drunkenness and lack of self-restraint. It must have been geared at educated and mature gay readers to understand the follies of these anti-heroes. Likely, BL fans who represented straight female teens and women will never find this entertaining. However, it is instructional for educated and mature gay readers to reflect on the fictional and disastrous scenarios in this novella. Compared to 'Love in the Big City,' I find this better narrated as the novel is too long and tedious to read without many stops.
I hope to read another author Park's novella or novel soon as he writes gay-themed fiction, not BL fiction.

[Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new addition to the Korean language material in my regional library.
A collection of short stories- the one with same book title was most notable.

[Lonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

진짜 재밌다. 근데 그 '유머'가 자학적이고 자멸적이라 진짜 슬프다. 다 읽고 나서 느낀 점은, 사람은 사람이라는 거. 우리 사실 다 똑같은 사람들이라는 거. 도토리 키재기 하면서 교만하고 정죄하고 판단하고 혐오하는 거 좀 그만 했으면 좋겠다.