With the Heart of a Ghost

With the Heart of a Ghost is a debut collection of eight fantastical stories translated by Chi-Young Kim (Whale) that explore feelings unseen, unconveyed, unexplainable.

The funny, meditative characters who inhabit this book are pulled far from their ordinary daily routines to stare straight into their own sorrows, however they manifest. Ghosts and otherworldly occurrences are folded seamlessly into author Lim Sunwoo’s quiet universe with stories buoyed by humor, warmth, and empathy for the lost and hurt among us. 

A ghost who looks just like the narrator reflects her feelings back to her in a bun shop; mutant jellyfish take over the world and if you touch one you become one yourself; a heartbroken man becomes a tree in his ex’s apartment; the ghost of a wannabe K-pop star stuck in a vacuum cleaner wants out; Jugyeong helps a man hibernate by burying him up to his neck; Huiae, in deep conflict with her husband, reconnects with her strange old friend; Jo has lost his best friend–a gecko–but won’t give up the search; and Suyeong plots revenge on a wild dog that killed her cats by channeling her inner cat.

For a moment, a short period of your everyday lives, each sparkling  story asks you to look within, to encounter all that is desired and strange and possible in life and death.

Author Biography

Lim Sunwoo was born in Seoul in 1995. She made her literary debut by winning the New Writer’s Award from Munhak Sasang in 2019. With the Heart of a Ghost was originally published in Korea by Minumsa Publishing in 2022 and has sold over 15,000 copies. She currently lives in Seoul.

Chi-Young Kim is an award-winning literary translator and editor. A recipient of the Man Asian Literary Prize for her work on Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin, Chi-Young Kim has translated over a dozen books, including works by Ae-ran Kim, You-jeong Jeong, and Young-ha Kim, among others. In 2023, Chi-Young Kim’s translation of Whale was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. She currently lives in Los Angeles.