Your Utopia

Bora Chung (trans. Anton Hur)

‘Bora Chung's stories glisten at the border of our weird world, and all our other weird worlds. A truly sublime book.’

Samantha Hunt, bestselling author of The Seas and The Unwritten Book

‘Bora Chung has proven once again that she is an undeniable maestro of the uncanny, grotesque, and posthuman. Only a consummate speculative allegorist could write a collection that functions as so haunting a mirror of our modern world, reminding us all the while that the politely deranged cannibals and lovesick AIs and beleaguered alien wives we see reflected in that mirror are really just versions of ourselves.’

Rafael Frumkin, author of Confidence and The Comedown

View all reviews

‘[A] sharp and often bizarre exploration of the borderlands of sci-fi and horror and social satire. It’s an eclectic mix, but many of the stories draw speculative permutations of current social inequities … Contemporary social issues such as domestic violence and discrimination against trans people are woven into unexpected tales, with familiar tropes made strange by the weird and penetrating originality of Chung’s imagination.’

Cameron Woodhead, The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Imagining a utopia and mourning when it falls short are the first steps toward creating a better world. A big job for fiction; Chung’s up to the task. The imagined worlds here may not be utopian — but the reading experience is.’

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

‘Hur returns as Chung’s brilliant Korean-to-English cipher for eight more enigmatically irresistible stories … Chung’s electrifying author’s note offers provenance for many of her stories and an empathic invitation to progress “toward a better world for both you and me.”’

Booklist, starred review

‘This is another fantastic collection … that combines big topics such as technology, human absurdity, and mortality. And [Chung] does it in the most amazing ways.’

Book Riot

‘ is another remarkable assembly of speculative tales … whereas almost everything has been done, Chung’s twists actually manage to surprise … very, very good..’

The New Zealand Herald

‘Bora Chung spins tales in which the mundane and the ominous bleed together … [T]here’s no questioning the ambition and philosophical curiosity at play here.’

Doug Wallen, The Big Issue

‘Extraordinary … Every story stretches the imagination but has foundations in the mundane … Each story is as strong as the next. Chung is fully in charge.’

Bob Moore, Good Reading Magazine

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘Anton Hur’s nimble translation manages to capture the tricky magic of Chung’s voice — its wry humour and overarching coolness broken by sudden, thrilling dips into passages of vivid description. Even as Chung presents a catalogue of grotesqueries that range from unsettling to seared-into-the-brain disturbing, her power is in restraint. She and Hur always keep the reader at a slight distance in order for the more chilling twists to land with maximum impact, allowing us to walk ourselves into the trap.’

Violet Kupersmith, The New York Times Book Review

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘Sharp, wildly inventive, and slightly demented (in the most enjoyable way, of course) … All we can say is buckle in, because when these stories take their horrific turn there’s no setting them down.’

Chicago Review of Books

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘While the stories in Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung blend elements of horror, fantasy and the surreal, each is viscerally rooted in the real fears and pressures of everyday life.’

International Booker Prize judges

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘Chung brings together 10 stories that are frightening, fantastical, and oddly funny … there is a glinting humour to Chung’s work and a glee at telling a good story well, no matter how terrifying. Cursed Bunny is absurdist horror with a feminist slant, and Hur’s translation deftly follows its every turn.’

PEN America

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘If you were the kind of child who was enthralled by Scary Stories to Read in the Dark, Bora Chung writes for you. Like the work of Carmen Maria Machado and Aoko Matsuda, Chung’s stories are so wonderfully, blisteringly strange and powerful that it's almost impossible to put Cursed Bunny down. In short, this collection may, in fact, be a cursed object in the best possible way.’

Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get In Trouble

‘Unexpected, funny, thrillingly original. These stories will stick with me.’

Ainslie Hogarth, author of the New York Times Best Book of the Year, Motherthing, and Normal Women

By the internationally acclaimed author of Cursed Bunny, in another thrilling translation from the Korean by Anton Hur, Your Utopia is full of tales of loss and discovery, idealism and dystopia, death and immortality. “Nothing concentrates the mind like Chung’s terrors, which will shrivel you to a bouillon cube of your most primal instincts” (Vulture), yet these stories are suffused with Chung's inimitable wry humour and surprisingly tender moments, too — often between unexpected subjects.
In ‘The Center for Immortality Research’, a low-level employee runs herself ragged planning a fancy gala for donors, only to be blamed for a crime she witnessed during the event, under the noses of the mysterious celebrity benefactors hoping to live forever. But she can’t be fired — no one can. In ‘A Song for Sleep’, a tender, one-sided love blooms in the AI-elevator of an apartment complex; as in, the elevator develops a profound affection for one of the residents. In ‘Seeds’, we see the final frontier of capitalism’s destruction of the planet and the GMO companies who rule the agricultural industry in this bleak future, but nature has ways of creeping back to life.
Chung’s writing is “haunting, funny, gross, terrifying — and yet when we reach the end, we just want more” (Alexander Chee). If you haven’t yet experienced the fruits of this singular imagination, Your Utopia is waiting.

‘Bora Chung's stories glisten at the border of our weird world, and all our other weird worlds. A truly sublime book.’

Samantha Hunt, bestselling author of The Seas and The Unwritten Book

‘Bora Chung has proven once again that she is an undeniable maestro of the uncanny, grotesque, and posthuman. Only a consummate speculative allegorist could write a collection that functions as so haunting a mirror of our modern world, reminding us all the while that the politely deranged cannibals and lovesick AIs and beleaguered alien wives we see reflected in that mirror are really just versions of ourselves.’

Rafael Frumkin, author of Confidence and The Comedown

View all reviews

‘[A] sharp and often bizarre exploration of the borderlands of sci-fi and horror and social satire. It’s an eclectic mix, but many of the stories draw speculative permutations of current social inequities … Contemporary social issues such as domestic violence and discrimination against trans people are woven into unexpected tales, with familiar tropes made strange by the weird and penetrating originality of Chung’s imagination.’

Cameron Woodhead, The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Imagining a utopia and mourning when it falls short are the first steps toward creating a better world. A big job for fiction; Chung’s up to the task. The imagined worlds here may not be utopian — but the reading experience is.’

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

‘Hur returns as Chung’s brilliant Korean-to-English cipher for eight more enigmatically irresistible stories … Chung’s electrifying author’s note offers provenance for many of her stories and an empathic invitation to progress “toward a better world for both you and me.”’

Booklist, starred review

‘This is another fantastic collection … that combines big topics such as technology, human absurdity, and mortality. And [Chung] does it in the most amazing ways.’

Book Riot

‘ is another remarkable assembly of speculative tales … whereas almost everything has been done, Chung’s twists actually manage to surprise … very, very good..’

The New Zealand Herald

‘Bora Chung spins tales in which the mundane and the ominous bleed together … [T]here’s no questioning the ambition and philosophical curiosity at play here.’

Doug Wallen, The Big Issue

‘Extraordinary … Every story stretches the imagination but has foundations in the mundane … Each story is as strong as the next. Chung is fully in charge.’

Bob Moore, Good Reading Magazine

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘Anton Hur’s nimble translation manages to capture the tricky magic of Chung’s voice — its wry humour and overarching coolness broken by sudden, thrilling dips into passages of vivid description. Even as Chung presents a catalogue of grotesqueries that range from unsettling to seared-into-the-brain disturbing, her power is in restraint. She and Hur always keep the reader at a slight distance in order for the more chilling twists to land with maximum impact, allowing us to walk ourselves into the trap.’

Violet Kupersmith, The New York Times Book Review

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘Sharp, wildly inventive, and slightly demented (in the most enjoyable way, of course) … All we can say is buckle in, because when these stories take their horrific turn there’s no setting them down.’

Chicago Review of Books

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘While the stories in Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung blend elements of horror, fantasy and the surreal, each is viscerally rooted in the real fears and pressures of everyday life.’

International Booker Prize judges

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘Chung brings together 10 stories that are frightening, fantastical, and oddly funny … there is a glinting humour to Chung’s work and a glee at telling a good story well, no matter how terrifying. Cursed Bunny is absurdist horror with a feminist slant, and Hur’s translation deftly follows its every turn.’

PEN America

Praise for Cursed Bunny:
‘If you were the kind of child who was enthralled by Scary Stories to Read in the Dark, Bora Chung writes for you. Like the work of Carmen Maria Machado and Aoko Matsuda, Chung’s stories are so wonderfully, blisteringly strange and powerful that it's almost impossible to put Cursed Bunny down. In short, this collection may, in fact, be a cursed object in the best possible way.’

Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get In Trouble

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Details

Format:Paperback

Size: 210mm × 135mm

Extent:256pp

ISBN (13):9781761380846

RRP:$27.99

Pub date:30 Jan 2024

Rights Held: ANZ

High-res cover:Download Image

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CATEGORIES / tags

Short stories FICTION / Short Stories (single author) Science fiction Thriller / suspense Fiction in translation FICTION / Science Fiction / General FICTION / Fantasy / General FICTION / Dystopian

AUTHOR

Bora Chung

Bora Chung has written three novels and three collections of short stories. She has an MA in Russian and East European area studies from Yale University, and a PhD in Slavic literature from Indiana University. She currently teaches Russian language and literature and science fiction studies at Yonsei University, and translates modern literary works from Russian and Polish into Korean.

TRANSLATOR

Anton Hur

Anton Hur was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He won a PEN Translates award for Kang Kyeong-ae's The Underground Village. He lives in Seoul.

TRANSLATOR

AUTHOR

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Your Utopia

Bora Chung (trans. Anton Hur)

The New Zealand Herald

Doug Wallen, The Big Issue

Bob Moore, Good Reading Magazine

Violet Kupersmith, The New York Times Book Review

Chicago Review of Books

International Booker Prize judges

PEN America

Kelly Link, bestselling author of Get In Trouble

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