by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles

A multi-generational, multilingual epic by the National Book Award Winner and bestselling author and translator of Tokyo Ueno Station

In 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea, Lee Woo-Cheol was a running prodigy and a contender for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. But he would have had to run under the Japanese flag.

Nearly a century later,  his  granddaughter, living in Japan, is training to run a marathon herself.  She seeks the power of Korean Shamans, to summon the spirit of Lee Woo-Cheol, immersing herself into the painful histories of her family and the Korean and Japanese communities of Miryang, Korea. In rhythmic and breathless prose, Morgan Giles’ translation explores the emotion and the everyday of generational trauma, war and oppression. 

The End of August is a semi-autobiographical investigation into nationhood and family - what you are born into and what is imposed. Through a meditative dance of generations, Yu Miri moves across borders and time, shedding light onto the experiences of Japan’s Zainichi (second- and third- generation Korean) communities.