Hwang Sun-won is one of the most beloved and respected Korean writers of the twentieth century. This extraordinary novel is based on his own experience in his North Korean village at a historic turning point for modern Korea between the end of World War II (and with it the end of the 35-year Japanese occupation of Korea) and the eve of the Korean War just when Korea had been divided into North and South by its two "liberators" - the United States and the Soviet Union. Portrayed here is an entire community caught in a political and social firestorm that scathingly reveals the selfishness, cruelty, and ignorance of simple people, but also their loyalty and nobility.

Suh Ji-moon is professor of English at Korea University in Seoul. She received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Albany. Her translations from Korean include The Rainy Spell and Other Korean Stories (1983, revised and expanded edition, 1997) and stories by Hwang Sun-w?n included in the 1989 collection The Book of Masks., Julie Pickering is a freelance translator and editor living in Seattle.

Introduction; Chapter 1 1; Chapter 2 2; Chapter 3 3; Chapter 4 4; Chapter 5 5; Chapter 6 6; Chapter 7 7; Chapter 8 8; Chapter 9 9;