Bora Chung's 'Your Utopia' Explores Survival, Loss and Solitude Through Sci-Fi Short Stories

Bora Chung's second collection of short stories, 'Your Utopia,' features seven dark, apocalyptic science fiction narratives, plus one humorous tale filled with bureaucratic absurdities. The collection opens with a workplace drama set at the 'Center for Immortality Research,' where a junior staff member prepares for an anniversary celebration, revealing that the section head has been alive since 1914. Themes of survival and the experience of outliving peers lead to reflections on loss and isolation, affecting both humans and machines. In the titular story, a solar-powered vehicle survives on a barren planet for twenty-eight days, thirteen hours, and twenty-two minutes before finding companionship with a faulty robot. Another tale follows a military linguist who survives a cannibalistic virus that eradicates life on Earth, leaving her utterly alone. In 'A Song for Sleep,' an intelligent elevator develops affection for an elderly woman with Parkinson's, ultimately transporting her corpse down the building. Written during the pandemic, the collection poignantly addresses loss, with Chung stating in the epilogue that mourning is part of survival. Translated by Anton Hur and published by Honford Star, the paperback is priced at £14.99.