When Adam Opens His Eyes

First published in 1990, this is a sensational and highly controversial novel by one of Korea’s most electrifying contemporary authors.

A preposterous coming-of-age story, melding sex, death, and high school in a manner reminiscent of some perverse collision between Georges Bataille and Beverly Cleary, the narrator of this book plows through contemporaneous Korean mores with aplomb, bound for destruction, or maturity--whichever comes first.

Jang Jung-il was born in 1960. Self-educated, Jang’s wide-ranging tastes led him to try his hand at various genres once he began his career as an author. Jang Jung-il is infamous--and has even been jailed--for his erotic and violent fiction. He continues to write, albeit with less controversy, given Korean society’s increasing liberality.

Horace Jeffery Hodges is a retired professor of composition and culture at Ewha Women’s University in South Korea. His translation of The Soil by Yi Kwang-su was recognized as a Notable Translation by World Literature Today.

Sun-Ae Hwang is a translator from the Korean. Her translation ofThe Soil by Yi Kwang-su was recognized as a Notable Translation by World Literature Today.