Synopsis
The People’s Island is set in Geoje-do, South Korea and tells the story of a Korean boy entering adolescence, but stuck with a part-time job helping his father’s fishing charter business. The father’s assistant, Mr. Kang, is an ever-present force of oppression in the boy’s life and a bitter enemy of the boy’s mother. Eventually, the father and Mr. Kang set up shop on a small island, only for the boy to discover that the island is a cover for gambling and women. For the first time, however, on the island, the boy is allowed to fend for himself, to fish, explore and discover a new world of self-reliance.
This insightful, heartfelt, and hilarious portrayal of a Korean family living at the southern edge of the Korean Peninsula takes you deep into the heart of Korean culture and recent political history. The generational gap between the parents and their teenage son is so vividly rendered readers can only anxiously watch the dilemma to be resolved.
Dr. Seiwoong Oh, Professor, Rider University
The same oddball charm that led me to publish The Soju Club in South Korea resonates in this novel. A quirky cast, the sea, booze, and, most of all, an unexpected ending, sneaks up on you before you realize where it’s headed—all delivered with an enchanting readability. And one more thing: a boy who makes all the familiar things feel unfamiliar.
Kang, Moosung, editor of The Soju Club
The author Tim Fitts continues the atmosphere of his previous work The Soju Club in his latest piece The People’s Island, maintaining a bright yet profound and dark tone, set on the island of Geoje. The characters, intricately placed to resemble the many small, large, and scattered islands visible across Geoje, each carry traces of painful events throughout modern Korean history. Our twelve-year-old boy observes these characters from a fishing boat, gradually beginning to understand the mysteries of life. Following his journey, we eventually come to realize who “The People” in the title refers to. The story echoes the well-known two-line poem by the Korean poet Jeong Hyeon-jeong, “There is an island among the people / I want to go to that island.” It is a story that is painful yet beautiful, sad yet cheerful. The vivid depiction of Korea’s southern coast is an added bonus.
Han, Yujoo, author of The Impossible Fairy Tale
About the Author
Tim Fitts is the author of two short story collections, Hypothermia (Madhat Press 2017) and Go Home and Cry for Yourselves (Xavier Review Press 2017). His novel, The Soju Club, (Loupe 2016), was published in Korea as a Korean translation. His short stories have been featured in journals such as Granta, Boulevard, The Gettysburg Review, AXT, The Baltimore Review, among others. Fitts teaches in the Liberal Arts Department of The Curtis Institute of Music, is also a songwriter for the group, Delray Banks and the Prophets, and is currently collaborating with composer Thomas Weaver for his collection of prose poems, American Jackal, coming in 2025 from Madhat Press.
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