Author Photo: Studio Gaga
A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in A Magical Girl Retires, a delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga by Park Seolyeon.
Our protagonist is a normal girl; that is, a 29-year-old millennial woman drowning in credit card debt and unable to find a job after the pandemic rendered her unemployed. She has no family left, no friends, no prospects. One night she goes to Seoul’s Mapo Bridge to end all her troubles—until her attempt is interrupted by a white-clad woman who introduces herself as magical girl Ah Roa. Roa is clairvoyant and searching for the greatest magical girl of them all. And our protagonist just may be that special someone.
Magical girlhood isn’t what our protagonist expected. It’s work: real work, work that can pay off credit card debt! There are magical girl job fairs, magical girl classes, a magical girl cult…and a magical girl union Roa works under. The union is concerned with the greatest threat to humanity of them all: the climate crisis. They think our protagonist can defeat it. But what exactly are her abilities? And why is her magic wand a credit card?
Park Seolyeon explores real-world challenges that are both deeply personal and universal: the search for meaning and the desire to do good in a world that feels like it’s ending. A fun, fast-paced, and enchanting narrative that sparkles thanks to award-nominated translator Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls—that fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game.
In this episode of Author Talks, Park Seolyeon discusses her career and her English debut.
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Author Talks: Park Seolyeon
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
About the Speaker:
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Park Seolyeon was born in Cheorwon, South Korea and lives in Seoul. She made her debut in the journal Silcheon Munhak and received the 2018 Hankyoreh Literary Award for her novel The Girl in the Air. Her works include the novels Martha’s Work and The Shirley Club, as well as the short-story collection My Hormones Made Me Do It. She runs the literature platform Dungeon. |
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