“In Korean, this collection was a phenomenal bestseller, selling almost one million copies. Now, finally, it is available in a well-produced and smooth English translation. . . . Compulsory reading for all global citizens.” —Pacific Affairs (80:2, Summer 2007)"A valuable addition to the small but steadily growing body of Korean literature translated into English. It is a novel with relevance for most readers as the social and political issues it addresses are universal. . . . In one way the work is a masterpiece of miniaturization and in another it is a sprawling epic. In either case, it deserves a very wide audience." —Acta Koreana (11:1, 2008)
“The Dwarf has been translated into English, French, German, Bulgarian, and Japanese. At the time the book was first published [in 1978], a great majority of Korean college students read it, as the times were right to expose the conflict between corrupt families and the powerless laborers. Even today, the theme stays current, thus the popularity of The Dwarf continues." —Korean Quarterly (Fall 2008)
"I enthusiastically recommend the Korean novel The Dwarf. A modern classic set in the industrial Korea of the 1970s, The Dwarf is an imaginative cross between stark socio-political fiction and magical realism, used to deeply moving effect. It has taken many years for the English translation to find a publisher and I hope it will be picked up by many readers, who will, I’m sure, treasure their encounter with the dwarf’s family." —Hayun Jung, Words without Borders