A National Book Award Finalist hailed as “a social treatise as well as a work of art” (Alexandra Alter, New York Times), Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 announced Cho Nam-Joo as a major literary talent. In her signature sharp prose, brilliantly translated by Jamie Chang, Nam-Joo returns with this haunting account of a neglected housing complex in the shadows of Town: a former fishing village bought out by a massive conglomerate. Town is prosperous and safe—but only if you’re a citizen with “valuable skills and assets,” which the residents of Saha Estates are not.

Disenfranchised and tightlipped, the Saha are forced into harsh labor, squatting in moldy units without electricity. Braiding the disparate experiences of the Saha residents—from the reluctant midwife to the unknowing test subject to the separated siblings—into a powerful Orwellian parable, Nam-Joo has crafted a heartbreaking tale of what happens when we finally unmask our oppressors.