Art on Fire

(Paperback)

---

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A darkly comic and compelling satire of the art world from the author of The Disaster Tourist. An Yiji's career had been stalling for some time when a representative of the illustrious Robert Foundation offers her a spot on their all-expenses-paid artist residency in California. The residency has launched many famous artists' careers, so she knows she can't waste this opportunity. Still, she feels reluctant to accept, and with good reason- the Foundation's patron is a small dog named Robert, known for both his talent as a photographer, but also his arrogance. Moreover, the offer comes with a condition- on the last day of the residency, one of An's paintings must be incinerated, and Robert gets to select which one. When An reaches California, she finds the state ablaze with wildfires, but at the foundation all is calm. She navigates awkward dinners with Robert, tries to find inspiration while being bombarded with sponsors who all want their business to be the subject of her art, and despairs at the prospect of her work being set on fire. Was coming to California a huge mistake Praise for The Disaster Tourist- 'The forces pitched against Yona reveal their true scale and monstrosity in a frothy-seeming satire that, in the end, shreds the very idea of commerce to bleeding tatters. I'd say this was a perfect short novel for reading on the beach, but given what's in store ...' -Simon Ings, The Times 'Throughout The Disaster Tourist, there is a sense of impending catastrophe, of something huge and uncontrollable swallowing up those who spend their lives packaging, controlling, and creating these macabre tours ... Phenomenal.' -The Spectator 'Excellent ... a plain rendering of the extraordinary.' -The Irish Times

Reviews

The photo, the crime, the dog, and the artist. I kept asking myself: is this for real I couldnt stop wondering and couldnt stop reading either. Yun Ko-eun is such a master storyteller, and this translation immaculately reflects her style. So many disparate events are happening in this novel and yet they are all convincingly probable. In the end, I am left pondering about reality. About how we all live once before we burn.

-- Bora Chung, author of Cursed Bunny

Yun Ko-euns surgical satire on the age-old war between art and commerce has never felt this fresh and this relevant.

-- Sean Ellis, film director

Yun Ko-eun puts a lighted match to our present-day bonfire of the vanities, and the result is a memorably bizarre spectacle.

-- Simon Morley, author of Modern Painting: A Concise History

Praise for The Disaster Tourist:

A fresh and sharp story about life under late capitalism an entertaining eco-thriller.

* The Guardian *

Praise for The Disaster Tourist:

The forces pitched against Yona reveal their true scale and monstrosity in a frothy-seeming satire that, in the end, shreds the very idea of commerce to bleeding tatters. Id say this was a perfect short novel for reading on the beach, but given whats in store ...

-- Simon Ings * The Times *

Praise for The Disaster Tourist:

Throughout The Disaster Tourist, there is a sense of impending catastrophe, of something huge and uncontrollable swallowing up those who spend their lives packaging, controlling, and creating these macabre tours ... Phenomenal.

* The Spectator *

Praise for The Disaster Tourist:

Excellent ... a plain rendering of the extraordinary.

* The Irish Times *

Author Bio

Yun Ko-eun (Author) Yun Ko-eun was born in Seoul in 1980. In 2004, the year she graduated from university, her short story 'Piercing' won the Daesan Literary Award for College Students. In 2008, she received the Hankyorek Literature Award for her novel The Zero G Syndrome. In 2010 she published a collection of short stories entitled Table For One, and in 2011 her short story 'The Sea Horse Flies' won the Yi Hyo-seok Literary Award. Her novel The Disaster Tourist was published by Serpent's Tail in 2020. Lizzie Buehler (Translator) Lizzie Buehler is the translator of The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun, and Korean Teachers by Seo Su-jin. She holds an MFA in literary translation from the University of Iowa and has studied comparative literature at Princeton and Harvard.