
Pre-Owned Blowfish: A Novel Binding: Hardcover
Key item features
- A memorable existential tale. —Publishers Weekly
For readers of Han Kang and Sheila Heti, an atmospheric, melancholic novel about a successful sculptor who decides to commit suicide by artfully preparing and deliberately eating a lethal dish of blowfish.
Blowfish is a postmodern novel in four parts, alternating between the respective stories of a female sculptor and a male architect. Death is the motif connecting these parallel lives. The sculptor’s grandmother killed herself by eating poisonous blowfish in front of her husband and child, while the architect’s elder brother leapt to his death from the fifth floor of an apartment building. Now, both protagonists are contemplating their own suicides. The sculptor and architect cross paths once in Seoul, and meet again in Tokyo, while the sculptor is learning to prepare a fatal serving of blowfish.
The narrative loosely approximates a love story, but this is no romance in the normal sense. For the woman, the man is a pitstop on the road to her own suicide. For the man, the woman forestalls death and offers him a final chance. Through the conflicting impressions they have of one another, the characters look back on their lives; it is only the desire to create art that calls them back from death.
Evoking the heterogeneous urban spaces of Seoul and Tokyo, Blowfish delves into the inner life of a woman contemplating her failures in love and art. Jo’s fierce will to write animates the novel; the lethal taste of blowfish, which one cannot help but eat even though one may die in doing so, approximates the inexorable pains of writing a novel.A subtle, searing masterpiece.
—Kerry Cardoza, Chicago Reader
Postmodernism is alive and well in Kyung-Ran Jo’s latest . . . Blowfish is a book to chew on and savor, a deft delve into the intricacies of love and art.
—Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books
When I see a novel described as 'atmospheric' and 'melancholic' I’m immediately foaming at the mouth to read it . . . I can’t wait to get my hands on this strange, dark, lovely novel.
—McKayla Coyle, Lit Hub
Languid and moody, this novel explores art, life, love and loss in elegant and deliberate prose.
—Ms. Magazine
Remarkably lyrical . . . Blowfish is composed with a simmering desperation Jo manages with impressive control; Kim is again a splendid translator . . . Jo's complex exploration of living and dying becomes a mindful journey toward possibilities.
—Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness
Jo’s atmospheric writing distills the novel’s mood from its settings (Seoul is “the color of oxidized blood”; a Tokyo fish market is “slick and slimy with water and blood and discarded guts”), while details about the sculptor’s family history inform her chilling determination to die. It’s a memorable existential tale.
—Publishers Weekly
This novel invites the readers into a special experience. It follows a woman who, once consumed by thoughts of death, gradually turns toward life, a journey that becomes the author's profound - Jo, Kyung-Ran
- ISBN: 9781662601781
Specs
- Book formatHardcover
- Fiction/nonfictionFiction
- GenreLiterature & Fiction
- Publication dateJanuary, 2025
- Pages304
- Reading levelPreschool
- Free shipping
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Product details
- A memorable existential tale. —Publishers Weekly
For readers of Han Kang and Sheila Heti, an atmospheric, melancholic novel about a successful sculptor who decides to commit suicide by artfully preparing and deliberately eating a lethal dish of blowfish.
Blowfish is a postmodern novel in four parts, alternating between the respective stories of a female sculptor and a male architect. Death is the motif connecting these parallel lives. The sculptor’s grandmother killed herself by eating poisonous blowfish in front of her husband and child, while the architect’s elder brother leapt to his death from the fifth floor of an apartment building. Now, both protagonists are contemplating their own suicides. The sculptor and architect cross paths once in Seoul, and meet again in Tokyo, while the sculptor is learning to prepare a fatal serving of blowfish.
The narrative loosely approximates a love story, but this is no romance in the normal sense. For the woman, the man is a pitstop on the road to her own suicide. For the man, the woman forestalls death and offers him a final chance. Through the conflicting impressions they have of one another, the characters look back on their lives; it is only the desire to create art that calls them back from death.
Evoking the heterogeneous urban spaces of Seoul and Tokyo, Blowfish delves into the inner life of a woman contemplating her failures in love and art. Jo’s fierce will to write animates the novel; the lethal taste of blowfish, which one cannot help but eat even though one may die in doing so, approximates the inexorable pains of writing a novel.A subtle, searing masterpiece.
—Kerry Cardoza, Chicago Reader
Postmodernism is alive and well in Kyung-Ran Jo’s latest . . . Blowfish is a book to chew on and savor, a deft delve into the intricacies of love and art.
—Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books
When I see a novel described as 'atmospheric' and 'melancholic' I’m immediately foaming at the mouth to read it . . . I can’t wait to get my hands on this strange, dark, lovely novel.
—McKayla Coyle, Lit Hub
Languid and moody, this novel explores art, life, love and loss in elegant and deliberate prose.
—Ms. Magazine
Remarkably lyrical . . . Blowfish is composed with a simmering desperation Jo manages with impressive control; Kim is again a splendid translator . . . Jo's complex exploration of living and dying becomes a mindful journey toward possibilities.
—Terry Hong, Shelf Awareness
Jo’s atmospheric writing distills the novel’s mood from its settings (Seoul is “the color of oxidized blood”; a Tokyo fish market is “slick and slimy with water and blood and discarded guts”), while details about the sculptor’s family history inform her chilling determination to die. It’s a memorable existential tale.
—Publishers Weekly
This novel invites the readers into a special experience. It follows a woman who, once consumed by thoughts of death, gradually turns toward life, a journey that becomes the author's profound - Jo, Kyung-Ran
- ISBN: 9781662601781
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What is the Walmart Pre-Owned Program?
Walmart Pre-Owned allows you to find previously owned, well-cared-for items from Walmart’s trusted & performance-managed sellers. Shopping Pre-Owned allows you to bring home the best-quality picks at even lower prices, in addition to extending the life of an item & reducing waste. Find your favorites & shop a range of conditions in every category.
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Sustainability
Shopping Pre-Owned helps in extending the life of an item & reducing waste.
Product image for illustration purposes only. The item you receive may vary from the image in minor ways, such as slight differences in appearance, color, and/or design. *Exceptions apply during holiday season, and on certain electronics, collectibles, and jewelry.
Pre-Owned: Like New
What is the Walmart Pre-Owned Program?
Walmart Pre-Owned allows you to find previously owned, well-cared-for items from Walmart’s trusted & performance-managed sellers. Shopping Pre-Owned allows you to bring home the best-quality picks at even lower prices, in addition to extending the life of an item & reducing waste. Find your favorites & shop a range of conditions in every category.
Why Walmart Pre-Owned?

Trusted sellers & quality items
Each Pre-Owned item listed comes from Walmart’s trusted performance-managed sellers, to ensure you get quality items.
Quality you can afford
Save even more on top brands & your most-loved items.

30-day free returns
Don’t love it? Most items offer a 30-day* free return policy, for added peace of mind.

Sustainability
Shopping Pre-Owned helps in extending the life of an item & reducing waste.
Product image for illustration purposes only. The item you receive may vary from the image in minor ways, such as slight differences in appearance, color, and/or design. *Exceptions apply during holiday season, and on certain electronics, collectibles, and jewelry.
