Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan

The author sums it up best himself: stories are an exploration of a life filled with injustice. So ends the tale, as it began, about the unjust life of Chunhui, a gargantuan 27-year-old-woman nine days out of prison for arson and mass murder she may or may not have committed. The novel’s prologue returns Chunhui to her family’s previously thriving, now deserted brickyard outside the mountain town of Pyeongdae, Korea. There, in her prison uniform amid charred brick and daisy fleabane, Chunhui is overwhelmed by memories of kilns and flames; of the workers’ palpable disdain for her mute, unwieldy body; and of the gentle companionship and brickmaking tutelage of her stepfather, Mun. Alone and directionless but bent on survival, Chunhui catches and eats a snake. In a nearby river she bathes. She lives like a wild animal, and yet the story is one of humor, warmth, and humanity. It is also hard to categorize, but I very much enjoyed it and I haven't read anything quite like it before.