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Counterattacks at Thirty

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

From the bestselling author of Almond, The Devil Wears Prada meets The Office in this witty, humane, and ultimately transformative story of a group of young workers who rebel against the status quo.

Jihye is an ordinary woman who has never been extraordinary. In her administrative job at the Academy, she silently tolerates office politics and the absurdities of Korean bureaucracy. Forever only one misplaced email away from career catastrophe, she effectively becomes a master of the silent eye-roll and the tactical coffee run. But all her efforts to endure her superiors and the semi-hostile work environment they create are upended when a new intern, Gyuok Lee, arrives.

Like a pacifist version of V in V for Vendetta, Gyuok recruits a trio of office allies to carry out plans for minor revenge. Together, these four "rebels" commit tiny protests against those in more powerful positions through spraying graffiti, throwing eggs, and writing anonymous exposés. But as their attacks increase, the initial joy they felt at the release becomes something more and Jihye and the others will discover the beauty of friendship and the extraordinary power of unity against adversity.

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    • Booklist

      February 1, 2025
      Sohn's sophomore import after Almond (2020) spotlights young(ish) adults trapped in the lower rungs of labyrinthine corporate structures. Kim Jihye has been marked since birth as non-unique; her name was the most common for girls born in 1988, causing life-long run-ins with doppelg�ngers. At 30, she's currently a disposable "intern" at education-focused Diamant Academy; her primary duties include wrangling the copying machine and running errands. Jihye recognizes the new hire, Gyuok, who publicly exposed one of Diamant's famous instructors as a glorified pornographer. Gyuok convinces Jihye to sign up together for a ukele class, where they meet screenwriter Muin and single father Mr. Nam. The quartet agree they "need to act," planning small defiant acts against ubiquitous injustice: painting graffiti, egging lying politicos, disrupting a film premiere. Tired of being "one of many," Jihye longs to "scream out with confidence." Enlightening notes from Sohn (Jihye's generation is "sick and tired of advice and wisdom") and translator Halbert (the challenges of accurately representing Korean wordplay, Korean culture, Korean societal hierarchies) append this provocative novel.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • English

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