[Short Fiction Series 5]
Better known as a novelist, Choe In-ho has also written strikingly original shorter fictions, of which the stories reprinted here are good examples. ¡°Deep Blue Night¡± is an autobiographical story that is both contemporary in being structured about a highway journey and yet traditional in its themes of exile, wandering, and retrospection. Of interest to an English-speaking audience are the California setting and the protagonist's observations on American and Korean-American life. ¡°The Poplar Tree¡± is one of a trio of stories, Strange Folk, that are reminiscent of Choe's signature stories The Boozer and Another Man¡¯s Room, which likewise blur the boundaries between fantasy and reality. It may be read as a coming-of-age story, a fable of hero worship and shattered illusions, or an example of magical realism, with its blend of vivid detail and playful metaphysical speculation.