The Law of Lines, HyeYoung Pyun
The Law of Lines, HyeYoung Pyun
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The Law of Lines

Author: Hye-Young Pyun, Sora Kim-Russell

Narrator: Caroline McLaughlin

Unabridged: 6 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/08/2020


Synopsis

When Se-oh, a recluse still living with her father, returns from an errand to find their house in flames, wrecked by a gas explosion, she is forced back into the world she had tried to escape. The detective investigating the incident tells her that her father caused the explosion to kill himself because of overwhelming debt she knew nothing about, but Se-oh suspects foul play by an aggressive debt collector and sets out on her own investigation, seeking vengeance. Ki-jeong, a beleaguered high-school teacher, receives a phone call from the police saying that the body of her younger half-sister has just been found. Her sister was a college student she had grown distant from. Although her death, by drowning, is considered a suicide by the police, that doesn't satisfy Ki-jeong, and she goes to her sister's university to find out what happened. Her sister's cell phone reveals a thicket of lies and links to a company that lures students into a virtual pyramid scheme, preying on them and their relationships. One of the contacts in the call log is Se-oh. Like Hye-young Pyun's Shirley Jackson Award–winning novel The Hole, The Law of Lines is an immersive thriller that explores the edges of criminality in ordinary life, the unseen forces that shape us, and grief and debt.

About Hye-Young Pyun

Hye-young Pyun is the author of several short-story collections and novels. The recipient of many of Korea's most prestigious awards, including the Dong-in Literary Award, the Yi-sang Literary Award, and the Hyundae Munhak Award, she made her literary debut when she won Seoul Shinmun's annual New Writer's Contest with her short story "Shaking Off Dew" and has continued to publish short stories in publications such as The New Yorker and Harper's Magazine. She lives in Seoul, Korea.

About Sora Kim-Russell

Sora Kim-Russell is a literary translator based in Seoul. Her translations include Hwang Sok-yong’s Princess Bari, Suah Bae’s Nowhere to Be Found, and Kyung-sook Shin’s I’ll Be Right There. She teaches at Ewha Womans University and the Literary Translation Institute of Korea. Her full list of publications can be found at sorakimrussell.com.

About Caroline McLaughlin

Caroline McLaughlin is a versatile narrator with a smooth voice who strives to bring the author's words to life. She discovered her love for storytelling while recording audiobooks for people with reading disabilities. Being a great study of people has helped her to develop rich characters and accents. With a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, she began her career in broadcasting and her credits include announcer, spokesperson, voice actor, and narrator.


Reviews

Goodreads review by luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) on August 27, 2021

| | blog | tumblr | ko-fi | | 3 stars “The future was a dark corridor. And though she would grope her way through it, the door at the end would be locked tight.” After reading that Hye-Young Pyun's novel The Hole won the 'Shirley Jackson Award', I was intrigued to read her work. Thanks to NetGalley......more

Goodreads review by Olga on April 01, 2022

Minimalistyczna opowieść o śmierci, o tajemnicach i dwóch kobietach, które połączy los. To nie jest łatwa opowieść – to jedna z tych, które po cichu rozkwitają przed naszymi oczami, ukazując cały wachlarz znaczeń i nawiązań. Pyun Hye-Young między słowami demaskuje bezwzględny system, w jakim operuje......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on February 09, 2020

3.5 stars. A smart novel of two parallel, intertwining plots that is less of a mystery or even a crime novel, and more a consideration of loss, obsession, and capitalism. Both Se-oh and Ki-jeong have lost someone close to them in unclear circumstances. It could have been suicide, it could have been......more

Goodreads review by spillingthematcha on December 05, 2023

Niestety szybko o niej zapomnę. Nie do końca spełniła moje oczekiwania i liczyłam na coś nieco innego.......more

Goodreads review by David on October 04, 2020

My first multi-level-marketing thriller or more existential agony from the Land of the Morning Calm? Yes. Se-oh returns to find her house in flames, her father dead inside - perhaps a suicide to escape his mounting debts. Ki-jeong gets a call that her estranged sister has been pulled from the river, d......more