Shoko's Smile

By: Choi Eunyoung

Narrated by: Greta Jung, Jackie Chung, Janet Song

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A best-selling and award-winning debut collection from one of South Korea's most prominent young writers.

In crisp, unembellished prose, Choi Eunyoung paints intimate portraits of the lives of young women in South Korea, balancing the personal with the political. In the title story, a fraught friendship between an exchange student and her host sister follows them from adolescence to adulthood. In 'A Song from Afar', a young woman grapples with the death of her lover, travelling to Russia to search for information about the deceased. In 'Secret', the parents of a teacher killed in the Sewol ferry sinking hide the news of her death from her grandmother. 

In the tradition of Sally Rooney, Banana Yoshimoto and Marilynne Robinson - writers from different cultures who all take an unvarnished look at human relationships and the female experience - Choi Eunyoung is a writer to watch. 

Translated by Sung Ryu.

©2021 Choi Eunyoung (P)2021 Penguin Audio

So worth listening to ...

I absolutely loved this treasure of short stories and the narrators are second to none in their excellent delivery. Except for the spoken 'Americanisation' in translation in the last story and the slightest tinges of a "Texas Drawl" (really?) from the narrator (& I haven't read the printed form, so I don't know if this was spoken as it was translated) but here's the thing ... for me, imo ... I, for one, really, really wish Korea would not succumb to the notion of having to meet America's standards and approval to feel 'good enough' ... in anything. I really wish the translators would, for example, intersperse Hangul throughout all Korean authors' books & teach spoken 'language' during the process of narration - what's so wrong with saying, for example, 할머니 (halmeoni) instead of 'grandma/granny' ... except that the American 'market' might not 'like' it?

Here's the other thing: ROK ... you are total 'ROK Stars' in so many areas of your culture. AND , language - above all else - leads the way. No language, no culture ... pretty much. I hope, in the future, that the addition of Hangul vocabulary into spoken stories changes ... I hope we get to hear and see and understand so much more of your incredible culture in all aspects of it, via your amazing language 🙏 ... we heard, and welcomed & fell not just a little bit in love with BTS 'teaching' us so much, but especially, so much of their language.

I won't 'spoiler', in this review, the stories with a summary of each so will just say so many of these characters remain in my heart after listening to their journeys, either in first person or third. We, the readers or listeners, would be the poorer for not taking the time to download this volume, listening to each story and letting them fill your imagination, inspire you, fan your own hopes & dreams and learn what touches or has broken the hearts of Koreans in recent years. So looking forward to tracking down more of Choi Eun young's books and diving back into my Hangul texts to learn more about this 'gifted' language and to understand the nuances & meaning first hand instead of relying only on these, albeit excellent, translations. Having said that, Translators, thank you a gazillion, for the fabulous work that you do. Please keep gifting your incredible stories, via your incredible language, from the hearts of your amazing authors to us, your willing readers/listeners. 💐👏🏼💐👏🏼💐👏🏼💐👏🏼💐