Tower
- Downloads：7792
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-25 13:30:46
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Bae Myung-hoon
- ISBN：1916277128
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Tower is a series of interconnected stories set in Beanstalk， a 674-story skyscraper and sovereign nation。 Each story deals with how citizens living in the hypermodern high-rise deal with various influences of power in their lives: a group of researchers have to tell their boss that a major powerbroker is a dog， a woman uses the power of the internet to rescue a downed fighter pilot abandoned by the government， and an out-of-towner finds himself in charge of training a gentle elephant to break up protests。 Bae explores the forces that shape modern life with wit and a sly wink at the reader。
Reviews
Chris Durston
，
I'm almost definitely missing a lot of the satirical nuances in Tower， what with being a person in Britain reading an English translation of this Korean work， but I still feel like I got a lot of depth （and horizontality， and verticalality） out of it。 It's hard not to find the ideas intriguing: the central concept that this skyscraper has become a nation is interesting in itself， but I think what's explored to really great effect here is how interpersonal dynamics would work in that situation。 T I'm almost definitely missing a lot of the satirical nuances in Tower， what with being a person in Britain reading an English translation of this Korean work， but I still feel like I got a lot of depth （and horizontality， and verticalality） out of it。 It's hard not to find the ideas intriguing: the central concept that this skyscraper has become a nation is interesting in itself， but I think what's explored to really great effect here is how interpersonal dynamics would work in that situation。 The subtleties of how power flows around that nation-building are spun out in bizarrely imaginative ways， with geo-tagged liquor bottles and a dog actor becoming astonishingly relevant。As with the eponymous tower itself， I imagine there are an awful lot of levels to Tower， and I'm probably only seeing a few of them from my perspective。 It does a really good job， though， of letting you know that the others are there and making you think about the implications even if you're not fully able to take the tricky elevator ride there: the appendices are some of the most interesting bits to me， since they reflect the kind of works that the people in the tower would create to make sense of their lives there。There is a bit of an overarching narrative linking the stories together， but I think they all work on their own as interesting insights into different parts of living in this strange high-rise world， which is explored from different enough angles to make Tower feel substantially different from other nation-in-a-building things like High Rise or even Snowpiercer。 It's not coming at it with the same sort of lens as you might've seen elsewhere， and it's definitely something that'll prompt a few interesting thoughts about how we relate to each other as individuals and as societies。 。。。more
Kumasama
，
*Score: 8。5/10*A 674 skyscraper which is also a soverign nation！ Thats the set up of this collection of interconnected short stories， happening in this strange yet strangely fimiliar building / country。It is hard to come across a work which you can confidently say its "original"， as many great books have a reference point usually。 In my limited reading experience however， I have definitely not come across such a bizarre and strange collection of stories。 It is even difficult to classify the genr *Score: 8。5/10*A 674 skyscraper which is also a soverign nation！ Thats the set up of this collection of interconnected short stories， happening in this strange yet strangely fimiliar building / country。It is hard to come across a work which you can confidently say its "original"， as many great books have a reference point usually。 In my limited reading experience however， I have definitely not come across such a bizarre and strange collection of stories。 It is even difficult to classify the genre of this book， though labelled as a sci fi， I think its much more of a political / social satire with a dash of the weird and funny。The writing is flowing and easy to get into， and its very witty and funny even when its tackling some disturbing topics。 The author has an amazing balance of keeping a smile on your face constantly while keeping your mind engaged always， as this is not a shallow read at all with lots of themes including racism， political factions， economic warefare， religion， social behaviors and media control， power balances， Corporate corruption， refugee crisis， and even a bit of existentialism。 I will put my quick rating and view on each of the 6 stories， along with the 3 appendix content as well as its worthy。1。 Three Wise Recruits （7/10）: perhaps the weakest story， and initially didnt give me the impression that i will really love this book， but it does a good job of introducing the mechanics and structure of this skyscraper and it was quiet entertaining。2。 In Praise of Nature （8/10）: This is a nice tale about a writrer， and has a calming strange feel to it。3。 Taklamakan Misdelivery （9/10）: This is when I have started to take the book much more seriousely and really get immersed。 Surreal story with strange imagery， and has lots of general commentary on govermnets4。 The Elevator Maneuver Exercise （9。5/10）: Tied with story 5 as my favorite， here I knew I was reading an instant classic。 Military and terrorism with verticalist vs horizontalist political movements， in a building！ Strange dark hilarious and powerful。5。 The Buddha of the Square （9。5/10）: If there is one story you must read， its this one。 An elephant brought into the building to breakup protests， and an immigrant is controlling him while writing letters to his sister in law （and the elephant tries to reach enlightment to nirvana！） Imagery here is for life， i dont think ill ever forget this story。6。 Fully-Compliant （9/10）: another excellent story dealing with national identity， and how political stories are cooked and sources of conflicts often are forgotten。Appendix:A1。 The Bear God's Afternoon （9/10）: This is meant as part of what the writer in story number 2 writes， and its the most fantastical and existential of the bunch， about a white bear in a barren landscape full of white starving while contemplating meaning of life。A2。 Cafe Beans Talking （8/10）: based on some points raised in story 4 about the horizontalist movements， and raises important points on how when we grow in scope we lose sense of intimacy of close knit communities。A3。 A "Crazy" Interview with Actor P， Who Understands Interiority （6/10）: not sure if this was needed， but doesnt harm overall book as its only 8 pages long。 It ties to a key character （a Dog！） mentioned several times across the other stories。 Nice but not critical content。Overall this is an instant recommendation from me， it covers such a wide range of topics in a surreal atmosphere， and its a completely new experience that i think worth attempting， especially if you enjoy witty writing。 。。。more
Patrick
，
Loved this book。 Funny， charming， and always insightful。 Perfectly well-rounded and culminates amazingly。 Recommended to everyone！
Malin
，
"。。。 but folks here never leave the building - they live in it"。⠀⠀In Tower， Bae Myung-Hoon presents us with several short stories all set in the same 674-story skyskraper， Beanstalk。 By exploring the social and political constructions of this capitalist and hypermodern high-rise in a satirical way， it forces the reader to contemplate our own modern excistence and the absurdity of it。⠀⠀Who doesn't like a book all set in a high-rise？ （Ballard， anyone？）。⠀⠀Even though the stories are somewhat interc "。。。 but folks here never leave the building - they live in it"。⠀⠀In Tower， Bae Myung-Hoon presents us with several short stories all set in the same 674-story skyskraper， Beanstalk。 By exploring the social and political constructions of this capitalist and hypermodern high-rise in a satirical way， it forces the reader to contemplate our own modern excistence and the absurdity of it。⠀⠀Who doesn't like a book all set in a high-rise？ （Ballard， anyone？）。⠀⠀Even though the stories are somewhat interconnected （the dog， Film Actor P， who is holding his head so high that he almost falls over does get mentioned alot）， they do feel more or less like seperate stories that you never know where are heading。 Sometimes they are funny and absurd （like people sending liquor to a dog and the complications that occur because of it， or using an elephant to supress protestors inside the building）。 Sometimes they are sinister （like the tower feeling like a living organism in itself， or its combat against a terrorist organisation）， but there is also warmth and kindness （like two people finding friendship despite the horizontalist/verticalist devide or when two people does everything in their power to rescue a downed fighter pilot）。 You are almost left thinking: maybe Beanstalk isn't too bad？⠀⠀I do have to admit that I was somewhat bored by the end of this。 I do have a hard time reading short stories though， especially when I don't get enough time to get to know the characters， and in this case I was so unfocused while reading。 However， I do appreciate what Bae does accomplish with his stories。 It did make me think about the society in which we are living。 People having to do pointless tasks （reminded me of The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada） or people in charge rewarding good work by downsizing （as a person working in retail for ages， I could relate）。 A state where foreign workers are exploited， where some of the citizens have to live in terrible conditions （the electricity is rather used on advertisment instead of keeping people warm）， a state which doesn't really care about the ethics of either research or political elections， and where the citicens are being so caught up in this that they hardly recognise the outside world when they are hurdled out into it。 Does it sound familiar？ ⠀⠀So in other words: this is deffinitely a case of "it is not you， it is me"。 Read this when you have time to delve into the world of Beanstalk and have time to think about all the small details that Bae provides。⠀ 。。。more
Helen | readwithneleh
，
Tower by 배명훈 was one of my most anticipated reads this year。 Bae Myung-hoon is a famous SFF writer from South Korea and an author I've been curious about but knew that I was very far from being able to read his work in Korean （maybe one day！）。 So， I was thrilled that I got to read his book of short stories that was recently translated into English。 Consisting of six interconnected stories， Tower is about the lives of the citizens of a 674-story building that acts as its own sovereign nation。 Thi Tower by 배명훈 was one of my most anticipated reads this year。 Bae Myung-hoon is a famous SFF writer from South Korea and an author I've been curious about but knew that I was very far from being able to read his work in Korean （maybe one day！）。 So， I was thrilled that I got to read his book of short stories that was recently translated into English。 Consisting of six interconnected stories， Tower is about the lives of the citizens of a 674-story building that acts as its own sovereign nation。 This political satire set in a SFF setting was wonderfully complex and detailed。 The nuances of the Korean psyche were present even through translation， which I very much appreciated。 Themes such as collectivism mindset and the pursuit of purpose and redemption are all universal， but when set against the backdrop of Korean culture， the ingenuity of the author is clear。 For example， including a dog in his first story to showcase the inner workings of politics is funny enough， but when you know that the word "dog" in Korean is used for offensive language， it takes this story from being funny to brilliant。 Another similar example of this cleverness can be seen in the fourth story when a gentle elephant is used to break up protests — a bizarre but amusing take especially if you are aware of South Korea's long history and culture of protests。 It's apparent that the author's creativity is matched only by his understanding of satire and talent for wit。 Instead of building depth in the characters， Bae focuses on the consciousness of the message he is both subtlety and urgently delivering。 A smart tactic because evoking empathy in a reader through character development within the confines of a short story is difficult to do。 And what better way to elicit emotion from the reader than to speak to our humanity？ Bae delivers an alternate world of Korea that is grand and diverse， but also incredibly intimate and entangled。 And through each story， you can't help but see a bit of yourself — selfish and giving， defeated and passionate， lost and hopeful。 A prime example of work that is layered， this is one I'll definitely be reading again and again because I imagine I'll discover something new with each read。Imaginative， funny， and dark， I highly recommend to those who enjoy political satire and speculative fiction and are looking to expand their world just a bit。TW: murder， animal death， depictions of war Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy。 。。。more
Becky
，
If you read just one of my reviews I’ll be satisfied if it’s this gushing ramble about a new instant favorite， Tower by Bae Myung-hoon。 Tower is a satirical social sci-fi novel in the form of a series of interconnected short stories set in a 674-story building and sovereign nation called Beanstalk。 It was first published in South Korea in 2009 and this English translation came out last month in the UK。This book is a little hard to describe because I found the stories so surprising and delightf If you read just one of my reviews I’ll be satisfied if it’s this gushing ramble about a new instant favorite， Tower by Bae Myung-hoon。 Tower is a satirical social sci-fi novel in the form of a series of interconnected short stories set in a 674-story building and sovereign nation called Beanstalk。 It was first published in South Korea in 2009 and this English translation came out last month in the UK。This book is a little hard to describe because I found the stories so surprising and delightful， and I don’t want to take away from that magic by giving revealing summaries。 The setting of Beanstalk and the ideas that Bae is exploring in this collection were so exciting to me， like the first story which introduces the idea of tagging expensive liquor bottles and 3D scanning the building to visualize the flow of power。 I loved the recurring concept of the horizontalist vs verticalist mindset which had implications in transportation， military operations， and politics。 This is definitely a book where the characters often served as vehicles to talk about ideas rather than people who had fully developed personalities， something I recognize annoys other readers but which I’m always super into in sci-fi。 But that being said， this book is above anything else deeply human， and exploded my heart with its exploration of how we form communities and relate to one another。 I always know when going into a book described as satire which was first published in another country that a lot of stuff is bound to go over my head， and I’m sure that happened here， but that didn’t stop me from falling completely in love with the fascinating world of the Beanstalkians， and Bae’s bountiful creativity and wit。 I’m never more frustrated at the tiny percentage of global literature that’s translated into English than when I find a new favorite author with a significant oeuvre of work that I cannot read， so I’m going to need all of you to read this book to incentivize the publication of further translations， thank you！Cw for murder， suicidal ideation， mass death， animal death 。。。more
Barry Welsh
，
KBS Korea 24 @KBSKorea24“On #KoreaBookClub， if you're a fan of #sciencefiction， hear @BarryPWelsh's take on "Tower，" by @KiyikKiyik， considered one of the top #scifi writers in Korea。 This collection of interconnecting stories was one of the most anticipated Korean translations of 2021。 #타워 #배명훈。 In fact， the English version， translated by @sungarooo of @smoking_tigers， was published just last week！ Barry also talks about how this was part of a bigger project by small independent publisher @honf KBS Korea 24 @KBSKorea24“On #KoreaBookClub， if you're a fan of #sciencefiction， hear @BarryPWelsh's take on "Tower，" by @KiyikKiyik， considered one of the top #scifi writers in Korea。 This collection of interconnecting stories was one of the most anticipated Korean translations of 2021。 #타워 #배명훈。 In fact， the English version， translated by @sungarooo of @smoking_tigers， was published just last week！ Barry also talks about how this was part of a bigger project by small independent publisher @honfordstar。 Tune in！ #sfnovel #sf소설”19:10-20:00 KST， Mon-Fri on KBS WORLD Radio。Download the KBS Kong / KBS WORLD Radio Mobile apps or subscribe to the Korea 24 podcast for your daily updates！#KBSWORLDRadio #KBS월드라디오 #Korea24 #코리아24 #책스타그램 #북스타그램 #bookstagram #book #reading #KoreanLiterature #한국문학 （https://lnkd。in/gxkU6aW） 。。。more
Callum McAllister
，
Stone cold banger。
Kimberly Ouwerkerk
，
Tower is a book that makes you think。 It is not a very lighthearted read because you have to keep an eye on the logistics and politics within the Beanstalk。 There are meanings within meanings and I’m sure each reader will draw his or her own conclusions， and none of those conclusions will be the same as mine。Especially the contrast of “individuals” who do their jobs well， intending no harm， versus what all those well-meaning individuals can do together， impressed me。 You can get carried away by Tower is a book that makes you think。 It is not a very lighthearted read because you have to keep an eye on the logistics and politics within the Beanstalk。 There are meanings within meanings and I’m sure each reader will draw his or her own conclusions， and none of those conclusions will be the same as mine。Especially the contrast of “individuals” who do their jobs well， intending no harm， versus what all those well-meaning individuals can do together， impressed me。 You can get carried away by one innocent act and end up at the center of political machinations in Beanstalk， a globally recognized sovereign state of 500，000 people。Although this short story collection is labeled as sci-fi， the stories are more of a social and political nature。 The technology is not very advanced。 Tower outlines a society similar to any major metropolis， only this time the society is fully 3D， which adds a new layer to the power fields。 A new world to explore。Food for thoughtI like Bae Myung-hoon’s writing style and Sung Ryu’s translation。 The sentences flow smoothly into each other。 Sometimes the detailed descriptions of the inner workings of the Beanstalk get a little tiresome， but that’s the only way for the reader to understand what’s going on。 The book is more intense – in a quiet and roundabout way – than I expected。 All stories want to convey a situation， an issue， and the narrators exist only to facilitate that。It is called a political satire and rightly so。 Sometimes the stories are funny – let’s include the dog – but even then it’s hard to ignore the mirror that’s being held up to you。 Having no experience with 3D thinking， I assume that even when there are no surveillance cameras， at least one of the walls in the Beanstalk reflects the events in the tower and shows you and others what you don’t want to see。 It’s a vision you don’t easily escape: when you want to leave the tower， you have to combine vertical and horizontal transport to traverse several floors until you find yourself back in a flat 2D world。Memorable storiesLet’s talk a little more about the stories。 Although I still have mixed feelings about the lost soul of the robot， I am very glad that the dog was included。 Jokes aside， the first two stories – Three Wise Recruits and In Praise of Nature – were very entertaining。 Through these stories， the visible and invisible force fields are explored。 In the Appendix， the dog （Actor P） talks about life as if he were a human with unequal rights。 The later stories focus more on logistics， but also show the power of the masses， what hype can do， and how the association with something sacred rubs off on those around it。 Sometimes you have to work hard to grasp the meaning; in one of the stories – The Elevator Maneuver Exercise – this is taken to a whole new level。 There are so many details that it feels like you’re reading a report for work。 There are stories within stories， invisible force fields that are merely alluded to， that you have to read between the lines。 A subtlety that goes as deep as you want， but that you have to dive into yourself。The story that touches me the most （especially this year） is Café Beans Talking in the Appendix。 This café shows the power of local community places， how gatherings of people lead to humanity。 Once that community is taken away， the people of that tower floor become people of a nation again; faceless people without identity。 All that remains is a record of their precious lives and experiences that stretched horizontally across the space。 They， like us， have to be careful not to become a vertical coordinate。 。。。more
Paul Fulcher
，
The wonderful small independent press Honford Star’s mission is ‘to publish the best literature from East Asia， be it classic or contemporary 。。。 By working with talented translators and exciting local artists， we hope to see more bookshelves containing beautiful editions of the East Asian literature we love。 ’ And to date their Korean literature has been classic literature from the 1st half of the 20th century （see my reviews: https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。 https://www。goodreads。com/r The wonderful small independent press Honford Star’s mission is ‘to publish the best literature from East Asia， be it classic or contemporary 。。。 By working with talented translators and exciting local artists， we hope to see more bookshelves containing beautiful editions of the East Asian literature we love。 ’ And to date their Korean literature has been classic literature from the 1st half of the 20th century （see my reviews: https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。 https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。 https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。）But for 2021， their K-lit focus turns to the contemporary， in terms of authors， and the future in terms of subject matter。 In July 2021 we will get Cursed Bunny translated by Anton Hur from SF writer Bora Chung’s original， and before that in May the post-apocalyptic To the Warm Horizon translated by Soje from Jin-Young Choi。And their first offering is， this， Tower translated by Sang Ryu from the original 타워 by 배명훈 （Bae Myung-hoon）。 The first thing that grabs the reader's attention is the stunning cover， commissioned from artist Choi Jisu （http://www。jisuchoi。net/） - see here for the press's general approach to their distinctive cover art: https://booksandbao。com/asian-cover-a。。。The text itself comprises 6 connected short-stories， plus some complementary appendix material， set in Beanstalk， a 674 floor building， 2。4km high （so around 5 times the height of the Lotte World Tower that currently dominates the Seoul skyline）， home to 500，000 people， and now a sovereign state in its own right。The author did his Masters at Seoul National University on diplomacy， his thesis focusing on the Schlieffen Plan （https://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Schlief。。。） and that is evidenced in the stories， which focus on the power dynamics within the community， but which all tinged with a strong sense of off-beat humour。The first， Three Wise Recruits - The Version Including the Dog （동원 박사 세 사람 : 개를 포함한 경우）， tells of how a professor in the Tacit Power Research Unit decides to map the power within the community by introducing bottles of expensive liquor， fitted with small tracking chips， into the society and then seeing how they circulate as “tokens of gratitude” to those with most influence。 But his research finds one particular nexus of power which transpires to be a flat occupied by a star canine actor。The Elevator Maneuver Exercise （엘리베이터 기동연습） draws more directly on military mobilisation plans focusing on the unit responsible for deployment of troops to manage any civil unrest or even an infiltration by the surrounding country， using a complex system of elevators。 This story also introduces us to the two main political factions， the horizontalists， who argue for the independence of each floor， and the verticalists。And Fully-Compliant （샤리아에 부합하는） brings in the story of agents from the distant land of Cosmomafia， enemies of Beanstalk via an undeclared proxy war， who attempt to attack the skyscraper state via a complex series of Sharia-loan funded real-estate transactions。The appendices include a note on tactics used by the verticalists to overcome the electoral advantages enjoyed by the horizontalists， and an interview with Actor P， the prize-winning dog who indeed features in every story。Overall， this was a lot of fun to read， yet containing some important and well-thought through messages about power dynamics in modern states and communities。 In SF terms this tends much more to the allegorical than the 'wholly coherent world-building' end， which to me is a positive。Recommended 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Tower
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Tower&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Tower&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0