One Left is a provocative, extensively researched novel constructed from the testimonies of dozens of "comfort women." Kim Soom tells the story of a woman who was kidnapped at the age of thirteen while gathering snails for her starving family. The horrors of her life as a sex slave follow her back to Korea, where she lives in isolation gripped by the fear that her past will be discovered. Yet, when she learns that the last known comfort woman is dying, she decides to tell her there will still be “one left” after her passing, and embarks on a painful journey.
The first Korean novel devoted to the subject of comfort women, One Left rekindled conversations about the violent legacies of Japanese colonialism when it was published in Korea in 2016. It is also the first novel of Kim to be translated into English.
In this episode of video series Author Talks, Kim Soom discusses her career and award-winning novels.
"[An] exceptional novel [that] captures the agonizing legacy of a dark chapter from the recent past."―Booklist
"It may seem cliché to state that a novel is necessary. But this one really is."―Asian Review of Books
To order One Left, please visit:
https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295747668/one-left/
Author Talks: Kim Soom
Premieres: Thursday, January 7, 2021
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
About the Author:
Kim Soom has published thirteen novels and six short story collections. She has received the Yi Sang Literary Award, Hyundae Literary Award, Daesan Literary Award, Heo Gyun Literary Award, and the Tong-In Literature Prize. One Left is her first novel translated into English.
