My First Summer, Wanju: Reading Novel Edition 첫 여름, 완주(읽는 소설)

Another My First Summer, Wanju, bringing a different kind of pleasure and joy through reading the novel that was once heard.

Created so it could first be experienced as a single audiobook, the listening novel My First Summer, Wanju, with dialogue and stage directions mixed together like a play, is a work full of vivid verbal texture that readers can enjoy while imagining the scenes. In this new "reading novel" edition, novelist Kim Keum-Hee once again devoted great care to unfolding that realm of imagination into delicate and richly detailed sentences. Life Pattern Korea. The following is a passage that portrays the peaceful scenery of Wanju village.

Listening novel version:
The voices of children talking as they gradually move farther away.
Padma: How far does the science test material go again...?

Reading novel version:
Padma's worry about how far the science test material went blended together with the sound of wild birds. So did Yangmi's question, as if asking whether exams were starting already.

In the listening novel, this part was expressed through stage directions, and in the audiobook the sound of birds played in the background. In the reading novel, it is described in graceful prose as Padma's worry blending with the sound of wild birds. Life Pattern Korea. In this way, the sounds of nature hidden inside the stage directions of the listening novel, and the feelings of comfort and encouragement carried in the characters' lines, are revealed as novelistic sentences, allowing readers to experience one story through two different kinds of pleasure and joy. Readers who already experienced it as a listening novel will be able to enjoy the richness of the prose, while those who have not yet read it may also find themselves wanting to experience the unique appeal of the listening novel with its play-like form. In the author's note, Kim Keum-Hee says, "As I send this book into readers' hands, I imagine once again a larger, more delicate, more closely intertwined space of fellowship, widening its circle." She adds, "For me, summer will be remembered by the expression readers make after finishing My First Summer, Wanju." We hope that our shared space of fellowship may grow larger, more delicate, and more closely intertwined, so that we may build the strength of heart to stop telling sorrowful stories. With the new year, may the newly returned Wanju village bring you a sincere smile.

.

.