Cant I Go Instead

From the author of The Picture Bride, two women¿s lives and identities are intertwined ¿ through World War II and the Korean War ¿ revealing the harsh realities of class division in the early part of the 20th century.

Can¿t I Go Instead follows the lives of the daughter of a Korean nobleman and her maidservant in the early 20th century. When the daughter¿s suitor is arrested as a Korean Independence activist, and she is implicated during the investigation, she is quickly forced into marriage to one of her father¿s Japanese employees and shipped off to the United States. At the same time, her maidservant is sent in her mistress¿s place to be a comfort woman to the Japanese Imperial army.

Years of hardship, survival, and even happiness follow. In the aftermath of WWII, the women make their way home, where they must reckon with the tangled lives they¿ve led, in an attempt to reclaim their identities, and find their places in an independent Korea. 

About the author

Lee Geum-yi is a bestselling YA author in Korea. Her debut adult novel, The Picture Bride, was published in 2022.

An Seon Jae has lived in Korea since 1980. He was born in Cornwall in 1942, and since 1969 has been a member of the Community of Taizé, where he is known as Brother Anthony. He has published some 50 volumes of translated Korean poetry, as well as translations of several Korean novels.

Product details

• Authors: Lee Geum-yi
• Assisted by: An Seon Jae (Translation)
• Publisher: Faber Factory Plus GBS
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 09.11.2023
• EAN: 9781915590381
• ISBN: 978-1-915590-38-1
• No. of pages: 384
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Korea, FICTION / Historical / General, FICTION / Women, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Historical fiction, FICTION / Biographical, FICTION / Literary, Fiction in translation, Narrative theme: Interior life, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, FICTION / World Literature / Korea, Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction