If we had made different choices at a crossroads in the past,
wow different would our lives be?
Ever since her debut around 30 years ago, author Lee Geum-yi has left her footprint in Korean literature history with her works including You Too Are a Twilight Lily, Yujin and Yujin, and Keundori in Bamtee Village. Lee’s works could be distinguished by their way of digging into the realities of children and young adults throughout the ages, incorporating their pain and growth into an elaborate narrative. Lee Geum-yi says she “still has so many stories to write,” and she continues to keep writing to expand her horizons.
In this book, which took years to write, the author depicts the entire lives of two seemingly different characters, “Sang-man” and “Heo-gu,” as she incorporates the fantasy elements of traveling to a parallel universe. The suspenseful plot, which blurs the lines between life and death, fiction and truth, past and present, and real and virtual worlds, successfully draws readers into the story at once. The shocking twist waiting for readers at the end of the narrative, written in solid sentences with deep insights, provides yet another surprise.
The novel starts with the theme of death – with an invitation to a funeral that suddenly arrives like a depressing joke. The short text that announces the death of “Heo-gu,” a classmate with whom everyone had lost contact, sends ripples through the hearts of the ones left behind – all the more so because the invitation was sent by none other than “Sang-man.” In the memories of their friends, Sang-man was remembered as a sidekick figure to Heo-gu. What in the world has happened to Sang-man and Heo-gu over the past 30 years? This book unravels the stories of Sang-man, whose life was tangled when he met Heo-gu, and the truth about Heo-gu, who has lived with a secret that no one else has ever known. Through this narrative, Life Traveler invites readers to think about the truth in “life.”
"Many things are still possible because we are alive.”
A novel that invites readers to the middle of “life”
that cannot be paused or reset
“People always make choices. There is no one who has no regrets or lingering thoughts about the choice they did not make, the road not taken. There was nothing I could do, even if I knew about or took a glimpse into another life. However, I could not give up just yet.” (p. 70) All the characters in Life Traveler are yearning for “a life different from the one I’m living in.” The lingering thoughts and envy for the road not taken constantly hold them back. It is fairly easy to relate with them since no one can avoid taking responsibility for the choices they make at each crossroads to move forward.
The readers who “choose” this book will once again be left in front of a crossroads as they progress through the story – will they become travelers who wander in the lands of fiction, unable to set foot in the lost roads? Or will they march forward, armed with fiction, denying the twisted life they have led, and admiring a different life? Experiencing the lives of Heo-gu and Sang-man, who are at opposite ends of the spectrum, is an opportunity for readers to think about the choices they make throughout their journey in life. At the same time, readers will also receive the author’s reassurance that it is okay to be a little more forgiving of themselves as they bear the weight of those choices.
Even when we make mistakes, even when our lives are full of regrets, there are still many roads ahead of us that have not been traveled. Once you finish the last page of the book, it is now up to you to choose how you want to move forward – all since “many things are still possible because we are alive.”
There are no expectations.