Miss Kim Knows: And Other Stories - Cho Nam-Joo - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Cho Nam-Joo

TRANSLATOR: Jamie Chang

GENRE: Short Story Collection, Korean Fiction.

PUBLICATION DATE: October 29, 2024

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A short story collection by the brilliant Korean writer who always tackles powerful themes in her standoffish style. A good range of female characters, strong themes. A wonderful option for literary short fiction lovers.

I have been a huge fan of this author ever since I read ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982’. Its dry writing style belied the powerful theme it contained. The statement it made against the systemic patriarchy in Korea was so realistic that it stood true to regions much beyond Korean boundaries.

This collection of short stories explores a similar theme. The eight stories herein all focus on women, with the central characters ranging in age from preteen to octogenarian. The blurb describes the book as "exploring the intimacies of contemporary Korean womanhood", and the stories do justice to this claim.

In line with the author’s earlier works, each story is literary in style, focussing more on character development while still containing a strong plot. The stories are written in first person as well as third person. However, in both cases, we get to know the character’s inner thoughts intimately. It’s a brilliant example of how both grammatical voices can be used optimally for and without any compromise on character detailing by good writers.

The author’s prose is also as sharp as always, with the writing being to the point and without any flowery embellishments. It is a stark look at stark scenarios, elevating the grittiness and realism of the narrative.

The plots are not always linear, which might be a constraint to those who don’t know this author’s style. The random back-and-forth can be confusing. However, once we reach the end, we realise the importance of every event, past as well as present.

To be honest, I was a bit unsure about how the author would tackle the endings. As short fiction lovers know, endings make a difference to our experience of this format. In both ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born 1984’ and ‘Saha’ – the author’s only two translated-to-English novels so far – the endings were unexpected and shocking. In the former book, it worked well; in the latter, it was a disappointment. To my surprise, this collection handles most endings excellently without going OTT in settlement or happiness. The story stops at the right point of intrigue, when the character is on the cusp of a major life-changing situation, and yet the parting words leave us with enough information to guess what might happen next.

As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the eight stories, only two earned less than 3.5 stars. The rest were all winners. Here are the six stories that won my heart:

🌺 Under the Plum Tree: A first-person narrative from an octogenarian's perspective, focussing on her elder sister's present time in a care home and their childhood years. Introspective and bittersweet. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌺 Dead Set: A great part of me wonders if this story is auto fiction, based on the response the author received for her seminal feminist novel, ‘Kim Ji -Young Born 1982'. The fact that a key character is named Kim and the first-person narrator is called Choa increases my suspicion. Either way, this is a shockingly realistic narrative depicting human behaviour with all its strengths and flaws. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌺 Runaway: When the narrator's father runs away, it's a shock, but soon she sees another side of the event. One of the most unusual missing person narratives I've ever read! True to life in every way. The ending might not work for everyone, but I loved it. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🌺 Dear Hyunnam Oppa: A young woman finally lets her college boyfriend get a taste of his own medicine. Loved the letter format and the last sentence. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🌺 Night of Aurora: When a woman seeks to fulfill her life-long dream of seeing the aurora, you can't help but root for her. The only long story in this collection, and probably the most poignant and honest one. I especially loved the MIL-DIL connect in this one. Very unusual! - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🌺 Puppy Love, 2020: A budding romance faces challenges because of the COVID lockdown. What sets this story apart is that the "couple" is in the fourth grade. It sounds sweet but is more bittersweet. - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

All in all, a must-read collection with a strong character development and a powerful feminist undertone. If you have already read Kim Jiyoung, you can expect a similar yet novel approach in this set. If you want to try this author, this book could be a great way of sampling her writing.

Strongly recommended to short fiction, feminist fiction, and lovers of OwnVoices writing.

4 stars, based on the average of my ratings for each story. (If you are familiar with my ratings, you know that an average that goes to 4 stars and beyond is outstanding for an anthology.)

My thanks to W. W. Norton and Liveright for providing the DRC of “Miss Kim Knows: And Other Stories” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.