"The mere act of walking on the Earth is a challenge for our most unusual protagonist -- a shapeshifting, gender-bending alien. After crashing their spacecraft in the middle of nowhere, they find themself stranded on an unfamiliar planet, where gravity is a disabling force. They'll need to practice walking in the Earth's atmosphere to survive. And what better way to practice than hunt delicious humans? They chooses their prey, shifts their gender, appearance, and conduct based on the prey's sexual preference, only to attack at the pivotal moment of their encounter. They has found ways to adapt to this new way of life, from a backpack full of torturous tools and post-murder cleanup equipment, to a common dating app that's helped them sniff out and target the juiciest of humans. But everything goes horribly wrong one night when the alien fails to take one woman's life on the spot. Sent on an ill-fated chase all over the city, they begin to consider the psychological and physical tolls their experiences on Earth have taken on them. The alien must re-access their bloody means of survival to understand why humans also fight to live. But their hunger is unsatiable, and the alien once again zeroes in on a new prey, not knowing what awaits them... Min's hauntingdebut novel is part psychological thriller, part searing critique of the social structures that marginalize the queer, disabled, and nonconformist. Walking Practice uncovers humanity in who we consider to be alien, and how alienation can shape the human experience"--
Stranded on an unfamiliar planet and disabled by Earth’s gravity, a shapeshifting alien, to practice walking, hunts humans for food, but when their existence begins to unravel after failing to kill their latest meal, the alien is confronted with the psychological and physical tolls their experience on Earth has taken. 25,000 first printing. Illustrations.
Squid Game meets The Left Hand of Darkness meets Under the Skin in this radical literary sensation from South Korea about an alien's hunt for food that transforms into an existential crisis about what it means to be human.
After crashing their spacecraft in the middle of nowhere, a shapeshifting alien find themself stranded on an unfamiliar planet and disabled by Earth’s gravity. To survive, they will need to practice walking. And what better way than to hunt for food? As they discover, humans are delicious.
Intelligent, clever, and adaptable, the alien shift their gender, appearance, and conduct to suit a prey’s sexual preference, then attack at the pivotal moment of their encounter. They use a variety of hunting tools, including a popular dating app, to target the juiciest prey and carry a backpack filled with torturous instruments and cleaning equipment. But the alien’s existence begins to unravel one night when they fail to kill their latest meal.
Thrust into an ill-fated chase across the city, the alien is confronted with the psychological and physical tolls their experience on Earth has taken. Questioning what they must do to sustain their own survival, they begin to understand why humans also fight to live. But their hunger is insatiable, and the alien once again targets a new prey, not knowing what awaits. . . .
Dolki Min’s haunting debut novel is part psychological thriller, part searing critique of the social structures that marginalize those who are different—the disabled, queer, and nonconformist. Walking Practice uncovers humanity in who we consider to be alien, and illuminates how alienation can shape the human experience.
Walking Practice features 21 black-and-white line drawings throughout.
Translated from the Korean by Victoria Caudle
Lisainfo e-raamatute kohta