Our Happy Time

Bestselling South Korean author Gong’s first novel to be translated into English presents the dramatic, not to say melodramatic, story of two unlikely friends helping each other find peace and forgiveness. Former pop star Yujeong, still haunted by a dark childhood secret despite her wealth and success, wakes up in a hospital bed after her third suicide attempt. Her aunt Monica, a strict yet loving nun, offers Yujeong a choice: she can begin a monthlong, in-hospital course of treatment or return to her home—but if she chooses the latter, she must accompany Monica on her weekly visits to the death row inmates at Seoul Detention Center. Desperate to evade therapy, Yujeong opts to go with her aunt. It is on death row that she meets convicted murderer Jeong Yunsu, who grew up in severe poverty. Despite very different backgrounds, the two feel an affinity in their shared, deep sense of pain. They begin to open up to each other, in the process moving toward forgiveness of those who have hurt them, and acceptance of the Christian faith that Monica gently urges on them. Yujeong and Yunsu’s unlikely friendship plays out in overwrought, clichéd fashion, but with moments of beauty. Many readers will find the tone overly preachy, but Gong’s sincerity at times breaks through the heavy-handed moralizing. (July)