From the author and translator of the National Book Award finalist and Booker Prize shortlisted Cursed Bunny, comes a new novel-in-ghost-stories, set in a mysterious research centre that houses cursed objects, where those who open the wrong door might find it's disappeared behind them, or that the echoing footsteps they're running from are their own ...
The acclaimed Korean horror and sci-fi writer's goosebump-inducing new book follows an employee on the night shift at the Institute. They soon learn why some employees don't last long at the centre. The handkerchief in Room 302 once belonged to the late mother of two sons, whose rivalry imbues the handkerchief with undue power and unravels those around it. The cursed sneaker down the hall is stolen by a live-streaming, ghost-chasing employee, who later finds he can't escape its tread. A cat in Room 206 reveals the crimes of its former family, trying to understand its own path to the Institute's halls.
But Chung's haunted institute isn't just a chilling place to play. As in her astounding collections Cursed Bunny and Your Utopia, these violent allegories take on the horrors of animal testing, conversion therapy, domestic abuse, and late-stage capitalism. Equal parts bone-chilling, wryly funny, and deeply political, The Midnight Timetable is a masterful work of literary horror from one of our time's greatest imaginations.
'With a bone-dry wit and biting allegorical edge, expertly captured in Hur's translation, Chung turns the haunted-object trope into a vehicle for radical empathy and sharp critique. Part fable, part ghost story, and part social commentary, this is a beautiful and devastating excavation of how people make sense of the world's violence and tragedies.' -Publishers Weekly, starred review
'This is the perfect bite-sized horror book- a collection of haunting ghost stories easily consumed in one sitting. Through vivid imagery and biting rhythm, Bora Chung creates a vicious atmosphere, critiquing society and the selfish and stupid actions people take for fame, money, and their own comfort ... Chung deftly and sharply unsettles the reader, making them turn the page before they know it ... She has done a superb job of writing something both chilling, and beautiful in its entirety. Both horror fanatics and newcomers to the genre will devour this powerful and witty collection.' -Jacinta Richards, Readings
'Clever, scary and wickedly funny. I inhaled Bora Chung's book of ghost stories and then slept with the light on!' -Avni Doshi, author Burnt Sugar
