Counterattacks at Thirty
A Novel
Published on 27. March 2025
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-06-337810-0 (ISBN)
Description
From the bestselling author of Almond, The Devil Wears Prada meets The Office in this witty, humane, and ultimately transformative story of a group of young workers who rebel against the status quo.
Jihye is an ordinary woman who has never been extraordinary. In her administrative job at the Academy, she silently tolerates office politics and the absurdities of Korean bureaucracy. Forever only one misplaced email away from career catastrophe, she effectively becomes a master of the silent eye-roll and the tactical coffee run. But all her efforts to endure her superiors and the semi-hostile work environment they create are upended when a new intern, Gyuok Lee, arrives.
Like a pacifist version of V in V for Vendetta, Gyuok recruits a trio of office allies to carry out plans for minor revenge. Together, this unlikely found family of four "rebels" commit tiny protests against those in more powerful positions through spraying graffiti, throwing eggs, and writing anonymous exposes. But as their attacks increase, the initial joy they felt at the release becomes something more, and Jihye and the others will discover the beauty of friendship and the extraordinary power of unity against adversity in a coming of age story for anyone who's ever felt stuck.
Jihye is an ordinary woman who has never been extraordinary. In her administrative job at the Academy, she silently tolerates office politics and the absurdities of Korean bureaucracy. Forever only one misplaced email away from career catastrophe, she effectively becomes a master of the silent eye-roll and the tactical coffee run. But all her efforts to endure her superiors and the semi-hostile work environment they create are upended when a new intern, Gyuok Lee, arrives.
Like a pacifist version of V in V for Vendetta, Gyuok recruits a trio of office allies to carry out plans for minor revenge. Together, this unlikely found family of four "rebels" commit tiny protests against those in more powerful positions through spraying graffiti, throwing eggs, and writing anonymous exposes. But as their attacks increase, the initial joy they felt at the release becomes something more, and Jihye and the others will discover the beauty of friendship and the extraordinary power of unity against adversity in a coming of age story for anyone who's ever felt stuck.
Reviews / Votes
"Shows that in a world full of things that cannot be changed, the one thing you could change might be yourself." - Anton Hur, author of Towards Eternity"This tale of self-empowerment through revenge holds the reader's attention.....[F]or fans of Parasite and Squid Game."
- Publishers Weekly
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Dimensions
Height: 148 mm
Width: 215 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
314 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-337810-0 (9780063378100)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
03/2025
HarperCollins
€18.38
Available for download
Persons
Sohn Won-pyung is a film director, screenwriter, and novelist living in South Korea. She earned a BA in social studies and philosophy at Sogang University and film directing at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. She has won several prizes, including the Film Review Award of the 6th Cine21, and the Science Fantasy Writers' Award for her movie script. She also wrote and directed a number of short films and made her feature film directorial debut with Intruder. She made her literary debut in 2016 with Almond, her first full-length novel, which won the Changbi Prize for Young Adult Fiction. Released the following year, Counterattacks at Thirty received the Jeju 4.3 Peace Literary Prize and the 2022 Japanese Booksellers' Award.