Hunger by Choi Jin-young

I had chosen and no law, no gun, no God could stop me now. Only him.

A sleeper hit with over a QUARTER OF A MILLION copies sold

THE KOREAN CULT CLASSIC PHENOMENON

‘Perfect reading for fans of BUTTER and Nobel-Prize winning THE VEGETARIAN’ WATERSTONES

‘A feast for the literary senses’ ANTON HUR, judge of the INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE

A woman sees her man murdered on the street – and time stands still.

Until she cradles his corpse to her chest and carries it home, where she disinfects every inch of skin before seating herself to begin. What happens next reverberates from this realm into the next, where the man is witnessing his own funeral.

Together, the lovers lament a lifetime of working their fingers to the bone in a country sucking everyone dry – but a choice has already been made. The woman is beating them at their own barbaric game, eating and entombing the body in her own where her soulmate will live again.

The word-of-mouth sensation that everyone has an opinion on, HUNGER is a psychologically and philosophically thrilling cult classic that cuts to the very heart of love, money and the things they do to us.

HUNGER was a top bestseller for over half a year, breaking records for literary fiction in South Korea.

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‘Raw beauty… It will consume you as you consume it’ DEAN ATTA, author of The Black Flamingo

‘A short novel, but a hefty work of creative genius’ BARBARA ZITWER, author of The Korean Book of Happiness

‘I savoured every word. A novel of remarkable depth’ AYESHA MANAZIR SIDDIQI, author of The Centre

‘Written with exceptional deftness and profound insight’ MONIKA KIM, author of The Eyes Are the Best Part

‘Lyrical and dark, delicate and cruel… You will devour this’ JUNG-MYUNG LEE, author of The Investigation

‘What a propulsive, strangely tender book… Incredibly moving’ E.K. SATHUE, author of youthjuice

‘A heart-moving novel’ NOW IN SEOUL

The cult classic sleeper hit that sold 350,000 copies – from one of the best-known writers at work in South Korea

About the Author: Choi Jin-young is one of Korea’s most celebrated authors. Her career started in 2006 when she won the Silcheon Literature Debut Author Award. She has since won many more including the Shin Dong-yup Literary Prize, Manhae Literary Prize and, most recently, the Yi Sang Literary Award.

Hunger (originally titled Proof of Gu) was a top bestseller for over half a year, breaking records for literary fiction in Korea.

26 Jun 2025
 

Hunger: The CULT CLASSIC that sold a QUARTER OF A MILLION copies by Choi Jin-young ISBN 9781840919011