Winter in Sokcho

'A masterpiece.' Huffington Post. It's winter in Sokcho, a tourist town on the border between South and North Korea. The cold slows everything down. Bodies are red and raw, the fish turn venomous, beyond the beach guns point out from the North's watchtowers. A young French Korean woman works as a receptionist in a run-down guesthouse. One evening, an unexpected guest arrives: a French graphic novelist determined to find inspiration in this desolate landscape. The two form an uneasy relationship. When she agrees to accompany him on his trips to discover an 'authentic' Korea, they visit snowy mountaintops and dramatic waterfalls. But he takes no interest in the Sokcho she knows: the gaudy neon lights, the scars of war, the fish market where her mother works. She is pulled into his drawings but troubled by his vision of her - until she strikes upon a way to finally be seen 'A punchy first novel.' Guardian 'Narrated in an elegant, enigmatic voice that skilfully summons the tenderness and mutability of an inner life, Winter in Sokcho is a lyrical and atmospheric work of art.' Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti 'Mysterious, beguiling and glowing with tender intelligence... Dusapin's talent is a thrill to behold.' Alexandra Kleeman, author of You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine 'A vivid, tactile, often claustrophobic, and gorgeously written novel. An absolute joy from beginning to end.' Lara Williams, author of Supper Club 'Atmospheric, exquisitely written and highly charged.' Olivia Sudjic, author of Sympathy

Elisa Shua Dusapin was born in France and raised in Paris, Seoul and Switzerland. Winter in Sokcho (Hiver à Sokcho) is her first novel. Published in 2016 to wide acclaim, it was awarded the Prix Robert Walser and the Prix Régine Desforges, and has been translated into six languages.