In this translation of a highly acclaimed Korean novel, a journalist gets assigned the biography of Bak Bu-kil, a well-known novelist, and as he tries to piece together fragments of Bak s life, he realizes that the novelist's past hides a painful secret. The narrator learns that Bak was forbidden from entering the family s courtyard, not, as young Bak originally thought, because he used to pick the fruit from the persimmon trees, but rather because his fatheronce the great hope of a diminished noble family but presumed missing for yearswas locked in a hut in the back. Bak s discovery of the hut s inhabitant changed his life forever, causing him to seek refuge in reading, which led to writinghis only line of communication and a way to rid himself of the ghosts of his past. Dealing with themes of shame, abandonment, rebellion, love, and religion, this extraordinary novel cemented its author's reputation as an important figure in South Korea's literary scene."En esta traduccion de una aclamada novela coreana, a un periodista se le encarga la biografia de Bak Bu-kil, un novelista muy conocido, y mientras intenta descifrar los fragmentos de la vida de Bak, se da cuenta de que en el pasado del novelista se oculta un secreto doloroso. El narrador aprende que a Bak le estaba prohibido entrar en el patio de su familia, no, como el joven Bak pensaba originalmente, porque solia tomar la fruta de los caquis, sino porque su padreen su diala gran esperanza de una familia de nobleza venida a menos y desde anosdesaparecidoestaba encerrado en una cabana en el fondo. El descubrimiento del habitante de la choza cambio la vida de Bak para siempre, haciendo que se refugiara en la lectura, lo cual lo llevo a la escriturasu unica via de comunicacion y una forma de deshacerse de los fantasmas de su pasado. Tratando sobre los temas de la verguenza, el abandono, la rebelion, el amor y la religion, esta novela extraordinaria establecio la reputacion de suautor como un personaje importante en el ambito literario de Corea del Sur.""