On the Eve of Goodbye

FROM THE 2 MILLION-COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOTHER In three corners of the world, three women sit down to write letters. In New Jersey, an older Korean American woman sits at home during a hurricane, her electricity and water cut off, branches and debris swirling outside her window. She lights candles against the dark and, in a letter to an old friend, reflects on a quiet life scarred by modern history. In Germany, a younger Korean writer sits restlessly in a hotel room. She has come to this country to visit a dying friend who now cannot bear to be seen. Desperate to show how much she cares, she writes a letter recounting their deep friendship. In coastal Jeju, an artist sits in a friend's bright, beautiful studio feeling wrung out with grief, to answer the letter she has been avoiding for many years. Weaving together the lives of three artists to explore creativity, belonging and human connection, On the Eve of Goodbyeis a moving, wise and tender novel about both the homes we live in and the homes that live in us, from one of Korea's most loved authors. TRANSLATED FROM KOREAN BY ANTON HUR