Blowfish

韓國大山文學獎(Daesan Literary Award)得獎小說《河豚》(暫譯) (Blowfish)，充滿內省與哲學色彩，探討了藝術家在面對死亡與孤寂時，如何透過彼此的交集重新審視生命的意義。
「如果你想瞬間且完美地終結生命，你需要練習與準備。」
一位雕塑家與一位建築師曾在首爾擦身而過，隨後在東京再次相遇。
這位雕塑家已經決定求死。她正在學習如何料理一份足以致命的河豚餐點——這正是她祖母當年自殺的方式：在丈夫與孩子面前服下毒素。這種死法優雅、充滿儀式感，且具有一種確定的絕決。
而這位建築師的生命早已被死亡所侵蝕。他的哥哥從公寓大樓的五層墜樓身亡。此刻，他也正在思索如何退出這段生命。
對女人而言，這個男人不過是她通往自殺之路的一個中繼站；對男人而言，這個女人則是延緩死亡、為他提供另一種出口的契機。透過在彼此生命中留下的印記，他們開始反思各自的人生。
《河豚》帶領讀者穿梭於首爾與東京的城市空間，深入探索兩位在愛情與藝術中感到挫敗的藝術家內心的世界。
究竟是什麼，讓生命真正值得活下去？
For readers of Han Kang and Sheila Heti, an atmospheric, melancholic novel about a successful sculptor who decides to commit suicide by artfully preparing and deliberately eating a lethal dish of blowfish.
If you wanted to end your life instantly, perfectly, you needed practice and preparation.'

A sculptor and architect cross paths once in Seoul, and they meet again in Tokyo.

The sculptor has decided she is going to die. She is learning to prepare a fatal serving of blowfish. This was how her grandmother killed herself, in front of her husband and child. Delicate, artful but with a sense of guaranteed finality.

The architect's life has been marred by death. His elder brother leapt to his death from the fifth floor of an apartment building. He too is pondering his own exit from this life.

For the woman, the man is a pitstop on the road to her own suicide. For the man, the woman is a way to forestall his death and offer him an exit. Through the impressions they leave on each other, they reflect on their own lives.

Taking readers through various urban spaces of Seoul and Tokyo, Blowfish delves into the inner lives of two people contemplating their failures in love and art. What truly makes life worth living?