Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Cho Nam-Joo points to a universal dialogue around discrimination, hopelessness, and fear.--Annabel Gutterman, TIME
In this fine--and beautifully translated--biography of a fictional Korean woman we encounter the real experiences of many women around the world.--Claire Kohda Hazelton, The Spectator
Cho deploys a formal, almost clinical prose style that subtly but effectively reinforces the challenges Korean women like Jiyoung endure throughout their lives in multiple contexts--familial, educational, and work-related. . . . Kim Jiyoung effectively communicates the realities Korean women face, especially discrimination in the workplace, rampant sexual harassment, and the nearly impossible challenge of balancing motherhood with career aspirations.--Faye Chadwell, Library Journal
Following the life of the titular character from her mother's generation through her own childhood, young adulthood, career, marriage and eventual 'breakdown, ' the book moves around in time to subtly uncover how patriarchy eats away at the psyches and bodies of women, starting before they're even born.--Sarah Neilson, Seattle Times
I loved this novel. Kim Jiyoung's life is made to seem at once totally commonplace and nightmarishly over-the-top. As you read, you constantly feel that revolutionary, electric shift between commonplace and nightmarish. This kind of imaginative work is so important and so powerful.--Elif Batuman, author of The Idiot
This is a book about the life of a woman living in Korea; the despair of an ordinary woman, which she takes for granted. The fact that it's not about 'someone special' is extremely shocking, while also being incredibly relatable.--Sayaka Murata, author of Convenience Store Woman, in Yomiuri Shimbun
Already an international best-seller, television scriptwriter Cho's debut novel has been credited with helping to 'launch Korea's new feminist movement.' The fact that gender inequity is insidiously pervasive throughout the world will guarantee that this tale has immediate resonance, and its smoothly accessible, albeit British English vernacular-inclined, translation by award-winning translator Chang will ensure appreciative Anglophone audiences. Cho's narrative is part bildungsroman and part Wikipedia entry (complete with statistics-heavy footnotes).... Cho's matter-of-fact delivery underscores the pervasive gender imbalance, while just containing the empathic rage. Her final chapter, "2016," written as Jiyoung's therapist's report--his claims of being "aware" and "enlightened" only damning him further as an entitled troll--proves to be narrative genius.--Terry Hong, Booklist [starred review]
Chilling.--Rebecca Deczynski - Domino
The book's strength lies in how succinctly Cho captures the relentless buildup of sexism and gender discrimination over the course of one woman's life. . . The story perfectly captures misogynies large and small that will be recognizable to many.--Kirkus Reviews
[A] spirited debut . . . [T]he brutal, bleak conclusion demonstrates Cho's mastery of irony. This will stir readers to consider the myriad factors that diminish women's rights throughout the world.--Publishers Weekly