The Old Woman With the Knife by Gu Byeong-mo

Source of book: Audiobook from the library

 

This book was listed by NPR as a potential “summer beach read” alongside a bunch of lighter genre fare. It sounded a bit different from the others, and, since I am always on the lookout for interesting books in translation, I put it on my list. With my newly reactivated Los Angeles County library card, I was able to listen to it during my commute. 

 

It is a bit difficult to classify this book. On the surface, it is a genre fiction story about an old woman who is coming to the end of her career as an assassin. One could call it a “one last case” story.

But it is more than that. The central character (who goes by the alias of Hornclaw) is a far more developed protagonist than most genre assassins, with a rich inner life, and complexity of motive. 

 

The book also focuses a lot on aging, and the invisibility that aging brings, particularly for women. It raises the question of love and sexuality for older women, and the inevitable breakdown of our bodies, even the most fit among us. 

 

All of this makes a ruthless assassin who works for a morally repugnant family firm in what they euphemistically refer to as “disease control” a surprisingly sympathetic character. And this despite feeling bad for most of her victims - neither she nor the reader knows who put the hit on them or why. 

 

For Hornclaw, she has several problems. First is that the family firm she has worked for nearly all her life (since her abandonment by her parents and extended family) is gentrifying - becoming corporate and faceless. As a result, she is increasingly viewed as a relic of a past time, an old woman who may still be effective, but is showing signs of vulnerability. 

 

Second, after an unfortunate injury during a job, she has come into contact with a younger, widowed doctor, and has developed feelings for him and his family. Which is a very bad thing for an assassin - feelings make you vulnerable. 

 

Third, for reasons she does not understand, one of her co-workers hates her and keeps provoking her in an escalating yet puzzling and seemingly senseless manner. What IS his problem with her anyway? 

 

The original title of the book was originally Pagwa - “bruised fruit” - which is part of the plot as well as a metaphor for Hornclaw’s aging. I think it is a better title, honestly, but perhaps the marketing powers that be figured American audiences wanted something more lurid. 

 

What the book does have - and I think this might deserve a warning - is some really graphic violence, including violence against women and children. There is also an attempted rape of a child - that’s how the young Hornclaw discovers her abilities and her life calling, so to speak. 

 

The writing is better than average for genre fiction - straddling that line between genre and literary writing. As translated by Chi-Young Kim, the author’s unique style - and some similarities to other books translated for Korean I have read - come through. The audiobook is narrated by Nancy Wu, and the production quality is excellent, so this isn’t a bad book to experience that way. 

 

The Old Woman With the Knife is an unexpected take on the assassin genre, and a different sort of book than one commonly finds when reading books by American authors. 

 

For a rather different book translated from Korean, my older kids and I thought The Vegetarian by Han Kang to be a thought-provoking read.